With Team USA falling just short in their push to complete one of the greatest sporting comebacks of all time, the 2025 Ryder Cup is instead likely to be best remembered for the behaviour of sections of the Bethpage Black crowd.
Few will forget the atmosphere on Saturday afternoon at the Ryder Cup. It turns out that the European players had discussed refusing to continue playing. And many members of the side were pushed to their limit, with Rory McIlroy facing the most relentless abuse.
Of course, the performance of Team USA was probably a factor. They had been blown away over the first four sessions; meaning that they went into the Sunday singles seven points adrift.
But no one can pretend that they were anticipating the event to pass without incident.
The mistake the PGA of America made during the early stages of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage
Ever since Bethpage Black was confirmed as the Ryder Cup venue more than a decade ago, many spoke about an atmosphere that the event had never seen before. There was always a feeling that how the Europeans handled the crowds would go a long way to deciding the result.
With that, there was no reason for the PGA of America to allow the mood to become so toxic. Speaking on 5 Clubs, former European Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart admitted that the crowd behaviour has somewhat overshadowed the event itself, and insisted that the situation could have been prevented.
“I think ultimately the way Europe had devised the plan, both foursomes and fourballs, they seriously outdid the United States side. Each one had their own special, little moment,” he said.
“Fleetwood was obviously Herculean through the first four sessions from a European perspective. Rory is much loved wherever he goes, so for him to encounter that kind of animosity, I thought that was pretty tough for him to deal with. I thought young Robert MacIntyre, who obviously won last week, I thought he had a brilliant way of dealing with it. If somebody shouted a pretty unfavourable remark at him, he would knock the putt in and then blow them a kiss. I thought that was a wonderful way of dealing with that. But also, a huge fightback by the Americans on that final afternoon. And also, Justin Rose, given how old he is at 45 years old, and how he performed in the incredible atmosphere and cauldron, of course, it was Bethpage Black was superb.
“It will ultimately be remembered for the result and for the great performances. There will be the little asterisk about the crowd behaviour. But had it been dealt with appropriately from the start, it may have dissuaded them from carrying on in that ridiculous manner.”
The Ryder Cup with the potential to be the greatest of all time ended up as an anticlimax
The Ryder Cup should have an atmosphere like nothing else. It is a unique event in the men’s game, and has inspired some of the most iconic moments in the game’s history.
However, there is a line that should not be crossed. Seeing the stands go into a frenzy when Bryson DeChambeau won another hole against Matthew Fitzpatrick provided an amazing moment.
Having Rory McIlroy refuse to putt because of the vitriol heading his way was not.
The PGA of America has been criticised for being too reactive with many well aware that Bethpage always had the potential to get out of hand.
No one who warned of a scene where the spectators could turn against their own players can claim that they did not know what could happen in New York.
And with Keegan Bradley admitting his regret over how Bethpage was set up for the players, it is hard to think of many redeeming qualities from a Ryder Cup which had potential to be the greatest of all time.
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