Morikawa Criticizes Fan Behavior at the Ryder Cup
Collin Morikawa, a renowned golfer, has expressed his opinion on the behavior of American fans during the recent Ryder Cup, calling certain actions “out of line.” However, the athlete does not consider himself responsible for stirring up the atmosphere at the event. Two days before the Ryder Cup began at Bethpage Black, New York, Morikawa, a two-time major winner, had expressed his desire for the opening day to be “absolute chaos”. During the three days of competition, the European players were subjected to insults and derogatory comments from the public, including boos while they were preparing to execute their shots. Beer was even thrown in the direction of Erica, Rory McIlroy’s wife. This behavior was widely criticized, and the CEO of the PGA of America, Derek Sprague, apologized to McIlroy and the rest of the European team.Morikawa, speaking on Wednesday, stated that the fans went too far, but denied any responsibility for contributing to it. The PGA of America reinforced security around the matches as tensions rose during the three days of the Ryder Cup, which was ultimately won by the European team after withstanding the final push from the Americans in the singles matches. Morikawa made these statements before the PGA Tour’s Baycurrent Classic, which he won in 2023, in Yokohama, Japan. The golfer added that he doesn’t believe he has the power to incite American fans simply by “saying a word”. “I think fans can do and say whatever they want sometimes. A line was probably crossed there, so I would say there’s a line that needs to be drawn. But what’s so different and unique about golf is that we hear almost everything people say because they have access to be very close to us. I think you have to learn to find that division of what’s appropriate and what’s not,” he concluded.I think we took a little bit out of context what I said. I think Ryder Cups are meant to have a lot of energy, right? And I think by saying the word ‘chaos’, I didn’t mean they were rude, right? So that’s not up to me, I think, to be attributed to being rude. I think what I meant was I wanted energy, right?
Collin Morikawa
