The Ryder Cup is fast approaching and it has the makings of being the most exciting showdown yet between the United States and Europe.
Bethpage Black will play host to the Ryder Cup this year, and both teams will fancy their chances of winning the 45th edition of the competition.
The Americans have found it tough going over the past three decades, with Europe having won 10 of the last 14 meetings since 1995.
So Keegan Bradley and his players will be desperate to balance out the books by securing what would be a big win up in New York State next month.
Bradley will name his six captain’s picks for the Ryder Cup on Wednesday at 11am Eastern Time.
There will undoubtedly be at least one big surprise when the 39-year-old makes his announcement.
The American fans are desperate to know whether or not Bradley will pick himself for the US Ryder Cup team.
However, whichever 12 players make up the team, the Bethpage fans will vociferously get behind them.
PGA Tour caddie tells American fans what to do at the Ryder Cup
New York sports fans are well-known for the passionate support they give to their teams.
That will be no different at the Ryder Cup next month.
And the home fans have been sent a message by a PGA Tour caddie about what they should do when the European players are hitting their shots.
Kip Henley has caddied for a plethora of big names throughout his time in the game, including the likes of Vijay Singh and Stewart Cink.
He is currently caddying for Scott Gutschewski, but is arguably better known for the usually hard-hitting opinions he shares on his social media accounts.
Henley took to his X account on Monday, and offered some words of advice for the American fans who have tickets for the eagerly anticipated showdown at Bethpage in September.
He said: “Dear American Ryder Cup Fans. Can we please have an insanely biased loud week of cheering BUT 100% respectful of the Euro’s when it’s their time to play! Let’s make their trip home like a funeral but still in good spirit and respect of our great game!“
There has been a long and unsavoury history of European players receiving abuse during previous Ryder Cups, but things reached a whole new level at Brookline 26 years ago.
Colin Montgomerie suffered awful abuse at Brookline during the 1999 Ryder Cup
Back in his prime, Colin Montgomerie was often a target for American fans.
And when the Ryder Cup rolled into town at Brookline in 1999, Montgomerie received torrents of abuse from the home fans.
He spoke to reporters after the event and highlighted how it got so bad that his father had to leave the premises after hearing some of the things that were shouted at his son.
“My father left on the 7th,“ said Montgomerie, deeply upset. “That’s wrong. He’s 70 years old, he comes over here to watch me perform and has to leave. That isn’t right, it’s just not. It should not happen.“
“It’s very unfair, very unfair. I don’t know what to do about it. It’s unfortunate, it just takes the odd idiot to shout and that encourages the next idiot and the next guy and on and on. What can be done?”
The atmosphere turned genuinely toxic at one point, so much so that the late Payne Stewart felt the need to step in.
Stewart said to Montgomerie after just five holes of their singles match, “Colin, look, if you have a problem I will take care of it. This is not what it’s about. Some of our fans are out of control and not appropriate.“
While we are all hoping for an electric atmosphere at Bethpage Black in September, the Ryder Cup should always be played in the spirit that it was intended way back when it was formed in 1927.
The days of a gentlemanly environment at the Ryder Cup may well be long gone, but there is absolutely no place for torrents of personal abuse aimed at the players.
Hopefully the Bethpage fans heed Henley’s advice next month.
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