Collin Morikawa doesn’t believe he deserves any blame for the raucous behavior from fans at the Ryder Cup.
Ahead of the matches, the two-time major champion called for “absolute chaos” at Bethpage—and that’s what ensued, not necessarily in a good way.
Morikawa, though, doesn’t regret his words.
“I think we’ve taken what I said a little out of context,” he said ahead of this week’s Baycurrent Classic in Japan. “I think Ryder Cups are meant to have a lot of energy, right, and I think me saying the word ‘chaos,’ I didn’t mean for them to be rude, right?
“So like that’s not on me, I believe for me to take credit for people being rude. I think what I meant was like I wanted energy, right? You wanted people to be proud of the country, the countries they’re rooting for. So I don’t think, you know, me saying one word, everyone listened and then—I don’t think I have the power to do that amongst people. I think fans can do and say what they want sometimes. It probably crossed a line out there.
At Bethpage, the European team and Rory McIlroy’s wife were constantly showered with profanities and Europe’s top talents firmly believe things went too far. On the American side, Xander Schauffele echoes that sentiment, albeit on a lighter scale.
“It’s a tough thing,” Schauffele said at the Baycurrent Classic. “Yeah, there were some unsavory things said at certain times. I really wish we could have played better to have them cheer for us a bit more. New York’s a tough place to play for anyone. I even got a few comments to play better. I’m not taking much personally when it comes to sort of what fans say.”
Morikawa, despite hoping for an unruly atmosphere, thinks many fans took things to the extreme, and that’s not what he wanted heading into the biennial matches.
“I would say yeah, there’s a line that needs to be drawn, I believe,” Morikawa said. “But I think that’s what’s so different and unique about golf is that we hear nearly everything what people say because people have access to be so close to us. You look at a lot of other sports, you don’t really hear much. Things are said, but golf has that different aspect to it. So I think you have to learn how to find that division of what's appropriate and what’s not.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Collin Morikawa Says Ryder Cup Fan Behavior ‘Not on Me’.
