Ryder Cup

One of the most prestigious golf tournaments in the world took place last month on

American soil. The U.S. hosted the Ryder Cup, at Bethpage Black course in Farmingdale,

New York. a biennial golf tournament between the DP World Tour (Europe) and the PGA

of America (United States).

An American comeback fell short, leaving Europe victorious, but dissatisfied. As

the true etiquette of golf was questioned, everyone was left scratching their heads and

wondering what went wrong with the 2025 Ryder Cup tournament.

The Ryder Cup is played every two years, each team hosting the games every

other tournament. Europe, coming off a win two years prior in Montecelio, Italy, eyed

back to back championships. Big stars like Rory McIlroy, and Luke Donald were trying

to defend the cup, while United States’ Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler led an

American team hungry to bounce back with a victory.

“It was a crazy atmosphere, and a lot of fun. The USA players [were] really

rowdy, hyping everyone up. The Europeans were really nice, I got 7 autographs, mainly

from Europeans, honestly; it was a lot of fun,” said Ethan Okun, a junior at Blind Brook

High School (Westchester NY), who went to the Ryder Cup practice rounds the week

prior to the tournament.

When the weekend concluded, the biggest headline wasn’t even about the players.

It was about the actions of the American fans. Golf is known to be a gentle sport, out of

respect for the game and its players. Fans coming to the venues are held to a high

standard to be polite and courteous of the players and everyone involved in the event.

However, USA fans at Bethpage Black weren’t just disrespectful to European players;

they were abusive.

“You could see that there was some hatred towards the Europeans; guys would get

their autograph, and then say something derogatory,” Okun said.

Meanwhile, Europe’s team was appalled by the lack of courtesy from American

fans, which was mainly concentrated on McIlroy. The audience also verbally attacked

McIlroy’s wife, one individual even throwing a beer at her during Saturday’s events.

Although the Ryder Cup is known to be slightly rowdier than a normal golf tournament

because of the rivalry, the Americans clearly stepped over the line.

“Nothing was going to happen, there wasn’t going to be a physical altercation, but

there was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive,” Rory McIlroy told CNN.

Many question the role of the United States’ team in the behavior of their fans.

Some players were encouraging supporters, though it’s not clear if they meant it to go as

far as it did. Something that was no question over the line was the actions of Heather

McMahan, the Ryder Cup master of ceremonies. She spearheaded the audience in a ‘f**k

you Rory’ chant, much to the displeasure of McIlroy and European supporters.

Afterward, she stepped down from her position, later apologizing to McIlroy and Team

Europe as a whole.

American golfer Justin Thomas was one of the few people on the US side that

made it clear he was not in support of the crowd treatment over the weekend.

“Words hurt too. There were definitely some nasty things said. Cam [Young] and I

said to Shane [Lowry] and Rory [McIlroy] that we felt sorry for them,” Thomas told

CNN.

Thomas was one of the rare Americans who showed class and empathy towards

the European players, and tried to lower the tension of the tournament.

It is widely believed that the American audience acted out in frustration over the

score of the tournament through Saturday’s games. Going into Sunday, team Europe was

pummeling the US, up large and looking to cruise to another Ryder Cup success.

However, as if the weekend couldn’t get any wilder, the US mounted an incredible effort

to climb back into the tournament. They recovered from embarrassment to bring

themselves just a few points short of securing a victory, which would have arguably been

one of the greatest comebacks in sports history.

Nevertheless, Team Europe prevailed by a slim margin, winning their second

straight Ryder Cup as they head back overseas. Even in a hostile environment, the

Europeans came together to pull off a shocking triumph on US soil. McIlroy and Team

Europe get the last laugh, as they go home and prepare to earn a third straight Ryder Cup

in two years’ time.