American captain bizarrely making comparisons with Rome’s Ryder Cup two years ago as he talks about the vile abuse
United States captain Keegan Bradley
Keegan Bradley has refused to call out the New York mob who hounded Europe’s stars.
And the United States captain has slapped down accusations of being partly responsible for the shameful events that disgraced The Ryder Cup.
Bradley went on the defensive when questioned about the antics of the home fans at Bethpage through a shuddering Saturday.
Visiting players were subjected to vile abuse with Rory McIlroy taking the brunt of it during an awful afternoon of insults along with Shane Lowry.
It got so bad that PGA of America chiefs had to issue on-course messages, extra security was drafted in and police dogs were even beside greens.
Yet, instead of condemning the behaviour, Bradley opted to get involved in whataboutery and even attemped to draw comparisons with Rome two years ago.
Bradley said: “I thought the fans were passionate. I mean, their home team is getting beat bad. They are passionate fans. I wasn’t at Rome, but I heard a lot of stories that Rome was pretty violent as well.
“But the fans of New York from what I have seen have been pretty good. You’re always going to have a few people that cross the line and that’s unfortunate. I was happy to see our players trying to quiet down some people that were like that.
“Part of it is our fault. We are not playing up to the standards that they want to see and they are angry, and they should be.”
Anger is one thing, but it has spilled into obscenity. Bradley ran the length of a fairway during practice waving an American flag and his players spent the summer telling Europe it would be wild, crazy and chaotic with Bryson DeChambeau even saying they wouldn’t be ready.
But any notions of taking even a shred of responsibility for the carnage didn’t register on Saturday night as he said: “Yeah, Ryder Cups are wild. I don’t appreciate those words that you just said. I know what you’re trying to do. The Ryder Cup is full of passionate fans.”
Euro captain Luke Donald has basked in the way his players have handled the stress as they aim to finish the job off in Sunday’s Singles.
He said: “A lot of things have gone well for us, but we are very happy with how strong our team is, the firepower they have, the intensity. It is kind of the antifragile mentality.
“Things got tougher out there and it fired them up even more. They were able to get better through those difficult moments out there. That is what makes me most proud as a captain, just their ability to take the punches and come back even stronger.
“It was loud. It was raucous. What I consider crossing the line is personal insults and making sounds when they are trying to hit on their backswings or very close to when they are trying to go into their routines. That did happen a little bit. It’s happened at other Ryder Cups, too.
“It’s something we prepared for and I can see how well they have dealt with it. We’ve talked about it for a long time.
“I think people have individually different ways to deal with it. But you know, crowds have energy and you can use it however you want. It’s however you frame it.
Rory McIlroy
“There’s a stimulus, a response and in between that is how you decide what you want to do with it. Okay. I think some people find that motivating. So sometimes the crowd going at you can be a motivator for some of these players and I think Rory and Shane certainly looked like they were sort of almost enjoying the difficult environment out there.
“There’s lots of other things we’ve done. We’ve learnt from each other, from past Ryder Cups. My preparation started when I became captain. I didn’t know what the team was going to look like. I had no idea that 11 from the 12 was going to be back. So I was preparing a wider group for all kinds of things.
“I think it’s a lot of communication. It’s a lot of talking. And it’s a lot of getting to know the players. You know, if you get to know what makes them tick, how they want to be talked to, I think that helps, too.”