Tom Watson Apologizes for the Behavior of American Fans at the Ryder Cup
The former Ryder Cup captain, Tom Watson, has apologized to the winning European team for the behavior of the American fans at the tournament held at Bethpage Black. Watson, through his social media, congratulated the European team for their victory and regretted the attitude of the American fans.Watson, winner of five Open Championship titles among his eight majors, participated in four Ryder Cup teams. He captained the winning U.S. team in 1993 in England and captained the losing team in 2014 in Scotland. The European team, and Rory McIlroy in particular, were subjected to constant insults and booing during the three-day event in Farmingdale, New York. At times, the booing occurred when McIlroy was about to hit the ball, which caused delays and led the PGA of America to increase security.“I would like to congratulate @RyderCupEurope on their victory. Your team’s play the first few days was sensational. More importantly, I would like to apologize for the rude and petty behavior of our American fans at Bethpage. As a former player, captain, and as an American, I am ashamed of what happened,” Watson expressed.
Tom Watson
McIlroy later added: “There was a lot of unacceptable language and abusive behavior.” A video on social media showed Lowry having to be held back by his caddie after a fan said something before McIlroy hit a drive on Saturday. Another video showed McIlroy walking with his wife, Erica, when it appeared a beer was thrown at him and hit her. American team member Justin Thomas, after witnessing the verbal abuse directed towards McIroy and Shane Lowry on Saturday, said “we feel sorry for them”. “It was unfortunate,” Thomas said. “Cam [Young] and I just wish we had given them something to cheer for instead of people cheering against. I think that was the main consensus of the last two days, that we weren’t giving them enough to cheer for, and they were just trying to help us win. I guess that’s how New York fans are.”“I don’t think we should accept that in golf,” McIlroy said on Sunday after Europe secured a 15-13 victory against the United States. “… I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen this week.”
Rory McIlroy
