With day two of the Ryder Cup in the books, many right-minded Americans were ashamed by the behavior of some of their fans at Bethpage Black.
The PGA of America was called out after day two at the Ryder Cup, after it emerged that a comedian had initiated the vulgar Rory McIlroy chants that were heard throughout the day.
It goes without saying that the Ryder Cup is always going to be feisty, with players on both sides going at it and fans of the home team vociferously supporting their players while giving the visiting side a tough time.
However, the fans at Bethpage Black crossed a line on Saturday.
Jovial, and sometimes witty, banter quickly evolved into needless personal abuse being thrown at McIlroy and his playing partner Shane Lowry.
Some of the abuse the Europe Ryder Cup players received was genuinely nasty.
The thing is, the abuse from the ‘fans’ had the opposite effect – it just drove the European players on.
What Europeans have said about American Ryder Cup fans as Rory McIlroy abused
The US fans were more interested in abusing the European players than they were supporting their own team.
McIlroy bore the brunt of the tirade of insults hurled towards the European team.
However, every group out there on Saturday would have had a story to tell about some of the poor behavior outside the ropes.
Todd Lewis spoke to Golf Channel after day two had finished and he lifted the lid on what the European players were saying behind closed doors.
He said: “With regard to the fans today I did speak to a few members of the European team and the possibility of them crossing the line.
“I went to Robert MacIntrye and asked if they are crossing the line and in a very Scottish way he smiled and chose not to comment.
“But I did speak to a member of the team for Europe and he said it’s not necessarily what they say, which can cross a line, but it’s when they say it. Right before they hit, or right before they are getting into their rhythm to get ready to hit. They feel like that is a bit of a problem and should be addressed.
“Luke Donald has done a fantastic job of talking to members of Team Europe and getting them ready for this hostile environment.
“I may sound funny when he gave his team those virtual reality googles that they can simulate the noise here and the things to be said, but they used them and it worked.
“And some of the players use this heat they are getting as fuel, like Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy in particular.“
American Ryder Cup fans adding fuel to Team Europe’s fire
Some of the fans at Bethpage have missed the point badly this week.
They have been so wrapped up in making things difficult for the Europeans that they actually neglected the need to support their own players.
And that’s the big difference with Ryder Cups in Europe and the USA.
European fans certainly give the visiting team a hard time but they offer huge support to their own players.
The US fans haven’t struck the right tone at Bethpage this week and it could be argued that Keegan Bradley is partly to blame.
He has been saying all week about how they need to make Bethpage a cauldron of noise for Team Europe.
And unfortunately, certain spectators crossed the line in an unacceptable fashion.
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