European stars hit out at ‘offensive’ Ryder Cup claims
Last updated:
PGA of America president Don Rea has come under fire for his comments about the abuse suffered by European players at the Ryder Cup. Now, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood have had their say…
Matt Fitzpatrick was so concerned about the abuse he would receive at the Ryder Cup that he advised his parents not to travel to Bethpage.
Russell and Sue Fitzpatrick decided to take him up on that after they “didn’t have a great experience in Whistling Straits” four years ago, where their son and his teammates were subject to a number of taunts from the home crowd.
“Obviously it would have been nice to have my parents there to experience it, but you never know if it would be the same if they had been there,” Fitzpatrick said ahead of his return to the Dunhill Links Championship, where he will play alongside his dad.
While Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry took the brunt of the abuse from the American fans, who focused on personal insults for that pairing, Fitzpatrick noted that he was heckled for wearing braces on his teeth and – somewhat bizarrely – his preferred shoe brand.
“They were giving me abuse about my Skechers,” he explained. “That was the extent that I heard – I’m sure there were probably words that I didn’t hear.
“Obviously Rory and Shane, in particular, got a lot worse, and you see clips of various things being shouted out. It wasn’t great, and like Rory said, it wasn’t acceptable. I know obviously things have been said about what players have replied to the crowd – which, in my opinion, is warranted given what they gave in the first place.
“So I think mum and dad not being there probably made sense. I think they probably wouldn’t have necessarily enjoyed that atmosphere.”
Since Europe’s 15-13 victory at Bethpage, PGA of American president Don Rea has come under fire for suggesting the behavior of the fans in Rome two years ago was as bad, before later doubling down on his claims and saying he is “not bothered” by criticism.
But Fitzpatrick was having none of it.
“It is pretty offensive to European fans, the fact that he said that really,” the Englishman, who put two-and-a-half points on the board for his team across four matches, said.
“I wouldn’t say we were looking for an apology but I would say it’s understandable that they would apologize.
“I have had a number of friends who are American send messages, texts, all sorts, apologizing for the fans and saying really sorry that you had to deal with that stuff. But we knew what we were going to deal with going in.”
Fitzpatrick also pointed out that Rea, in his post-tournament address, congratulated Europe by saying they had “retained the Ryder Cup”.
Fitzpatrick added: “I don’t want to speak on behalf of everyone but we did feel there was a little bit of bitterness when they presented the trophy there and shook hands.
“Me and Rosey (Justin Rose) both looked at each other as if to say, ‘That wasn’t a very heartfelt congratulations.’ He said we only retained it but actually we won it.”
Another player who headed straight to the Dunhill Links Championship, Tyrrell Hatton, was asked about the comparisons to the Rome crowd ahead of his title defence in Scotland.
“Personally, I don’t think they were close at all,” Hatton, who was a late call-up to play with Fitzpatrick in Saturday’s fourball matches when Viktor Hovland pulled out, responded.
“I don’t think Rome comes anywhere near that. I don’t agree with what they said there.”
On his own abuse at the Ryder Cup, Hatton said he tried to avoid winding up the crowd, instead deciding to celebrate with teammates.
“Some guys on the team had a lot worse than others,” he explained. “For me personally, there was a lot of insults maybe around height or hairline or weight – some of which I pretty much said to myself anyway, so it wasn’t like anything new.”
The 33-year-old, who was one of just two players to leave Bethpage with an unbeaten record, continued: “I was really happy with how I managed my emotions on the golf course. I didn’t really let anything affect me. Even if I hit bad shots, I didn’t overly react. I was pretty calm, and as we know that can be difficult for me sometimes.”
As for Adare Manor in two years, Hatton would like to see that behavior knocked on the head.
“I don’t really think that the insults is the way forward,” the Englishman explained. “I would much prefer it to be a respectful atmosphere [where] you let the guys play and the best team wins, rather than trying to affect the outcome by trying to putt off players or things like that.
“But I don’t think it will be as hostile as maybe as it was last week. I’d like to think that it will be very respectful.”
Tommy Fleetwood, meanwhile, was keen to point out that it was a minority of fans who were spoiling it for everyone.
“There’s a big difference between a hostile environment and personal comments,” he explained.
“I think we were all prepared for it. Of all the talk that there’s been, it’s not about the entire US fans or the crowd. I don’t think that we should be using that as a whole. I have so many friends that are Americans and that were at the Ryder Cup, people close to me, saying, ‘I’ve got to support my own team’, things like that. That’s just what it is. You’re going to get a tough environment when you get to an away Ryder Cup.
“Personal comments can go too far, and you obviously hope that doesn’t happen again, or it shouldn’t happen. But it’s just so out of our control, and I think you just have to understand what you’re getting into and what you’re there for and go play golf.
“How many people were there? Fifty-thousand? Sixty-thousand? You can’t have a go at everyone because the majority don’t do that. I have no hard feelings about it at all.
“It helps that we won, obviously, but it’s hard to tell 50,000 people to act the right way. I think that’s one of the amazing things about the Ryder Cup is the atmosphere it creates. Who knows what happens in the future, but this particular Ryder Cup, we were all very prepared for and it showed how we played.”
-
Matt Fitzpatrick and Tyrrell Hatton played together during Saturday afternoon's fourball matches at the 2025 Ryder Cup.
