Why the Ryder Cup is being told to put on four extra matches at Adare Manor in 2027

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While the Ryder Cup may arguably be the best event in sport, it is certainly not without fault.

The 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black is unlikely to go down as one of the all-time greats.

There was plenty of drama, with Team USA nearly pulling off the greatest comeback in sporting history. But the event will largely be remembered for the behaviour of sections of the crowd.

Many who attended the Ryder Cup were astonished by some of the problems.

The Ryder Cup has been urged to make a change to the format

Of course, what did not help was the ticket prices. Fans were charged more than $750 to attend in New York – a sharp increase from what they had to pay in 2021 and 2023.

While some of the abuse clearly crossed the line, you could understand why some spectators felt shortchanged at times.

With that, a slight change to the format has been proposed.

Speaking on 5 Clubs, Johnson Wagner admitted that he was not impressed by what he saw at Bethpage.

And that prompted Gary Williams to suggest it is time to expand each session and have 10 players on each side involved.

“That was my first time being on the ground. Even on a Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday practice round, the crowds are massive. But also, it’s not the greatest spectator event to be there,” Wagner said.

Williams replied: “It’s among the worst.”

“Even at a course like Bethpage where a lot of the greens are perched up. There weren’t that many great vantage points. And you sit there all day to maybe get one crack at seeing the groups go through. So I was kind of blown away with how hard it was to watch,” Wagner added.

“It is not the fault of anybody in terms of the way they built the place out and that’s what it is. You only have four groups. They should add one additional match per session,” Williams said.

“The depth in Europe now, there’s no reason why we should have four guys sitting in the morning and in the afternoon. There should be five matches. Come on. Give the fans a little bit more.”

The problem with adding two more matches each day at the Ryder Cup

Obviously, four more matches across the week would not have addressed all of the issues.

And in truth, prices would probably increase further if there were going to be 10 matches over each of the first two days.

One consideration is the fact that more players will have to play five matches. The likes of Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood had nothing left in the tank by Sunday.

Scottie Scheffler admitted that both he and McIlroy were exhausted during their singles match.

It would be a shame for the quality to take a hit because so many players are running on empty.

But given that the 2025 event came down to just two points, it would be fascinating to know what would have happened had the likes of Ben Griffin and Rasmus Hojgaard played more.