Donald Trump has not been enjoying the golf. Normally, he relishes his contact with the game. But this weekend, his view of it has not been a winning one. Far from it.
In the Ryder Cup – which took place at the Bethpage course in New York State – Team USA, the side in which he has invested so much personal capital, were being hammered. Eviscerated. Taken apart. Worse, for the Trump mindset, they were being put to the sword by the team from Europe, the very continent that the US president loudly proclaims is being ripped apart by immigration, pervaded by Sharia law, and hollowed out by wokeism.
It was not meant to be this way. Here at Bethpage, Trump was meant to be witnessing a vivid example of American exceptionalism. He turned up on Friday, at an estimated cost to the taxpayer of $12m (£8.9m) in additional security, to associate himself with triumph. But instead of the spoilt multimillionaires of the US circuit putting the Europeans in their place, they were being schooled. And that hurt. Because the Trumpian worldview does not do failure. As the president demonstrated in January 2021, he does not take defeat graciously. Here was the sport he most enjoys, the one he reckons best embodies the Maga way of thinking – and his boys were taking a terrible beating.
As failure became ever more imminent, in the grandstands surrounding the course, the mood turned ugly. Golf, particularly in the US, has never attracted what might be described as a diverse audience. And in an America that is divided socially, economically and politically, it is not hard to recognise from which side of the grand societal canyon the home supporters at Bethpage hailed. These were the Maga stormtroopers, taking advantage of a rare international sporting event to loudly declare their patriotism.
The Ryder Cup has long been a partisan affair. When it’s staged in Europe, the home support is boisterous, and often very rude. But the Americans at Bethpage took the rivalry up a notch, and turbo-charged it in the “us and them” tenor of the times. Clad in the stars and stripes, belting out their angry “U-S-A” chant, and well lubricated by the local beverages, they had come to bellow out their triumphalism. Instead, they were obliged to watch as one-sided a start to the competition as had ever been staged in the Cup’s history. And, like Trump outside the Capitol in January 2021, the Maga boys were not equipped to take defeat. Fuelled by drink, as the slump to second place in a two-horse race became ever more clear-cut, so they became ever more obnoxious.
The thing about golf is that spectators can get very close indeed to the participants as they play. Thus, there are certain unwritten rules of etiquette, like keeping quiet as the players address the ball. Observations, witticisms and heckles are restricted to the moments after the ball has left the club. Not at Bethpage. Europe’s leading contenders, such as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, were routinely abused in the most distasteful fashion, even as they lined up their shots. McIlroy was insulted about his wife, and Lowry about his weight. Even Justin Rose, the nicest man in golf, was subjected to unforgivable abuse. And that was from one of his opponent’s caddies.
For the PGA, the organisers of the tournament, it has been one long embarrassment. This was not the gentlemanly pursuit they have claimed it to be. Not least when Heather McMahan, the MC the PGA hired to keep the crowd informed about what was going on, led the chants of “F*** you Rory” as Europe’s finest came out onto the first tee to play on Saturday (she has since stood down). And when McIlroy’s wife had a drink hurled at her when the grandstand flanking the 18th hole erupted into a drunken brawl after the close of play on Saturday, it was clear that things had moved beyond ugly. As a demonstration of how the Maga way of thinking infects public life, it has been telling.
The intriguing thing is, the crowd’s behaviour seems to have cowed the Americans and inspired the Europeans. As the competition drew to a close, there was only one winner in the game.
Trump, meanwhile, was not there on Sunday evening to present the trophy and glow in US glory. He had no doubt turned his attention to the next opportunity to gain personal kudos from American sporting success. And he will be right behind Team USA in the home World Cup next summer. Or at least, he will be until the moment they get knocked out by Iceland in the Round of Sixteen.
