Matt Fitzpatrick says he noticed "a little bit of bitterness" from PGA of America president Don Rea during the Ryder Cup trophy presentation on Sunday.
After making a quick turnaround for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews, Fitzpatrick reflected on a memorable Ryder Cup victory in New York.
Top of the list, of course, was the behavior of the crowd in New York, which PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague plans on apologizing personally for.
That's a different tone than president of the PGA of America Don Rea struck at Bethpage when playing it down somewhat after that hectic Saturday - but it was his demeanour on Sunday that Fiztpatrick noted.
"You know, I don't want to speak on behalf of everyone but we did feel there was a little bit of bitterness when we got to the - when they presented the trophy there and shook their hands," Fitzpatrick said at the Alfred Dunhill Championship.
The Sheffield man says that fellow Englishman Justin Rose also noted a hint of bitterness from Rea at the presentation - especially when he congratulated Europe for 'retaining' the Ryder Cup when in fact they won it outright 15-13.
"Me and Rosey both looked at each other as if to say, that wasn't a very heartfelt congratulations, I know that," said Fitzpatrick of Rea's attitude at the ceremony.
"And he said we only retained it but actually we won it, so...."
Although Rea hasn't seemed too concerned about the fan behavior, Sprague was much more disappointed, saying it had "no place in the Ryder Cup".
Fitzpatrick and most of the European side dealt with it superbly after being well prepared by captain Luke Donald, although most did not get the levels of abuse saved for Rory McIlroy.
"For me personally, people were giving me abuse about my braces. They were giving me abuse about my Skechers. Like that was kind of the extent that I heard," Fitzpatrick explained.
"Obviously Rory, Shane, in particular, got a lot on that Saturday afternoon, a lot worse, I guess. And obviously you see clips of various things being shouted out. Obviously it wasn't great, and like Rory said, it wasn't acceptable."
And although he understands why the PGA of America would want to apologize, Fitzpatrick accepts it was a minority of fans who got out of control.
"They can't control what comes out of everyone's mouth, there's no doubt about it," he added.
"I wouldn't say we were looking for an apology but I would say it's understandable that they would apologise. I've 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. Luke and the team did such an amazing job with that; you over prepare so that actually when you get there, we expected this, anyway. So it wasn't an issue."
