{"id":151267,"date":"2025-09-21T13:59:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-21T13:59:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/151267\/"},"modified":"2025-09-21T13:59:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-21T13:59:12","slug":"our-fans-are-creative-americans-just-chant-usa-usa","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/151267\/","title":{"rendered":"Our fans are creative. Americans just chant \u2018USA, USA\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matt Fitzpatrick\u2019s parents usually accompany him to the biggest golf events of the year. They were there on the 18th green at Brookline after his remarkable bunker shot clinched the US Open in 2022. They also braved the torrential conditions in Portrush this summer when Fitzpatrick put two years of largely torrid form behind him and a fourth-place finish at the Open convinced Luke Donald that he merited a captain\u2019s pick for the Ryder Cup. <\/p>\n

But Russell and Susan have decided not to attend Bethpage Black next week after their last experience at an away match.<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick was sent out last in the singles at Whistling Straits in 2021, a billing that amounted to little more than a funeral march. The Americans\u2019 had long sealed a landslide victory and the alcohol-fuelled celebrations were in full swing by the time he and Daniel Berger reached the 18th tee tied.<\/p>\n

\"Matt<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick\u2019s Ryder Cup record reads: one win and seven losses<\/p>\n

MADDIE MEYER\/PGA\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick\u2019s parents were desperate to see him break his Ryder Cup duck, but those beside them had other ideas. \u201cThere were a few choice words said to me in particular coming down the last hole. Someone shouted, \u2018Slit his throat, Berger\u2019,\u201d Fitzpatrick says. \u201cThat didn\u2019t go down too well with mum and dad, as you can probably imagine.\u201d <\/p>\n

Berger \u2014 at least proverbially \u2014 rose to the task and a birdie ensured a record-breaking ten-point margin of victory.<\/p>\n

The atmosphere will be no less hostile in New York, but Fitzpatrick\u2019s relationship with the Ryder Cup has always been surprisingly difficult. He first qualified in 2016, only two years after turning professional, but was benched for the first day and lost both of his subsequent matches.<\/p>\n

\"DP<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick with his parents, Russell and Sue, in 2016 after success on the DP World Tour<\/p>\n

DAVID CANNON\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

He was then left bitterly disappointed after being overlooked by Thomas Bjorn in 2018 before losing three times in the hammering in Wisconsin. <\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick finally claimed his first point in Rome in 2023, but even then it was not exactly plain sailing as two more defeats there left him with an unenviable 1-7 record. Coupled with a downturn in form that sent him as low as 85th in the world rankings earlier this year, Fitzpatrick had all but given up hope of making the team at all.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo be completely honest, this has probably been the easiest Ryder Cup cycle I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d he says. \u201c2016 was horrendous because it was my first and I was desperate to make the team. In 2021 and 2023 I qualified for the team fairly comfortably. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis time, I was relying on a captain\u2019s pick and, when they started being spoken about, I was miles off the list. I didn\u2019t play well last year, I didn\u2019t play well at the start of this season. It wasn\u2019t a burden at all because I\u2019d accepted the fact I wasn\u2019t going to play and I was okay with that. That was actually probably a big help.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fitzpatrick made the difficult decision to sack both his career-long coach, Mike Walker, and his caddie of six years<\/a>, Billy Foster, within a few weeks of the Masters in April.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt becomes hard to take when you\u2019re not playing well. I had such good results in \u201922 and \u201923, your expectations are obviously high, and you never think you\u2019re going to lose it,\u201d he says. \u201cThen, you\u2019re playing poorly and you never think you\u2019re going to get it back. It was very, very difficult working so hard and nothing paying off. It\u2019s hard to turn it around but fortunately I made a change at the right time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Blackburn, who also coaches Justin Rose, determined that Fitzpatrick\u2019s unusually long arms and poor shoulder flexion were behind the inconsistent ball-striking with his irons and altered his posture to better control the radius of his swing.<\/p>\n

A run of six top-ten finishes in eight tournaments during the summer propelled Fitzpatrick up to 11th in the qualifying standings and his experience playing in the US meant Donald was always likely to select him. The only remaining doubt was if his record would count against him, but Fitzpatrick feels it is an unfair picture.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously everyone does talk about it, but I\u2019ve kind of discounted \u201916,\u201d he says. \u201cLooking back, I probably wasn\u2019t good enough to play in the States. It still took me another three years to get my PGA Tour card. It\u2019s not my fault that I qualified on points, but I wasn\u2019t ready. <\/p>\n

\u201cIn 2021, I genuinely played really well. I think I must have been seven or eight under in the singles when I lost to Berger, but, at the end of the day, the point went to him and that\u2019s what everyone sees. Being on four teams is obviously still a great achievement and I think that says a lot about the player I can be.\u201d<\/p>\n

Armed with his pent-up frustration, Fitzpatrick played the first six holes in six under par in the opening fourballs session in Rome as he and Rory McIlroy trounced Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember Rory specifically saying he was so proud to be with me when I got my first point. I appreciated that from someone who is now one of the golfing greats. That point meant a lot,\u201d he says. <\/p>\n

They were paired together again the following afternoon against Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark, but after news broke of Cantlay\u2019s apparent refusal to wear a hat in protest against the PGA of America for not paying the US players, chaos engulfed the match as fans lining the fairways chanted, \u201cHats off to your bank account\u201d and waved their own caps in a surreal scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cBecause I love football so much [Fitzpatrick is a suffering Sheffield United fan], I know what football fans are like, particularly in Europe. They are the most creative with chants. The US has zero chants, other than \u2018USA, USA\u2019. I think of all the things that were sung over the course that week, it was hilarious. I think Patrick took it very well, I really do. So, pardon the pun, hats off to him for that,\u201d says Fitzpatrick, who rolls his eyes when reminded of Cantlay\u2019s insistence that he did not know what the chants were about.<\/p>\n

But the drama then infamously boiled over when Cantlay holed a long birdie putt on the 18th green and his caddie, Joe LaCava, stood in McIlroy\u2019s way while goading the crowd, despite Fitzpatrick still having a chance to halve the match. After the mayhem finally subsided, Fitzpatrick\u2019s putt came up short in the jaws of the hole and the fans roundly booed off the American players.<\/p>\n

\"Rory<\/p>\n

McIlroy said he was \u201cso proud\u201d to be playing with Fitzpatrick in 2023<\/p>\n

TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER MARC ASPLAND<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole situation was very bizarre. Looking back, I wish I\u2019d taken a little bit more time on the putt and kind of reset myself after the whole shit show that it was. It was obviously such a bizarre way to finish the match and it left a sour taste in our mouths really,\u201d Fitzpatrick says. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think it was a bit odd that Joe took it so personally because it wasn\u2019t even aimed at him. I think it was all in good fun. I\u2019m all for that sort of stuff. If you\u2019re taking it, then you\u2019re allowed to give it back, that\u2019s the way it is.\u201d <\/p>\n

McIlroy was still furious about LaCava\u2019s transgression when he confronted Justin Thomas\u2019s then-caddie, Jim Mackay, in the car park. \u201cI walked out as Rory was shouting. I was stood from a distance. I think you can actually see in the video, my face is like . . .\u201d Fitzpatrick opens his mouth in mock astonishment. \u201cIt was quite funny.\u201d <\/p>\n

As for those levels of pandemonium being recreated at Bethpage, Fitzpatrick dismisses any reason to feel apprehensive \u2014 even if his parents do not quite feel the same. \u201cI\u2019m looking forward to it,\u201d he says. \u201cWhatever happens, whether we win by ten or we lose by 20, I\u2019m just looking forward to being part of it. For me now, every Ryder Cup is an opportunity to improve my record, because everyone keeps banging on about it, so it\u2019s an opportunity to go and do that and there\u2019s no better place than an away Ryder Cup and hopefully give ourselves a chance.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ryder Cup<\/p>\n

Bethpage Black, New York
September 26 to 28
TV Sky Sports<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Matt Fitzpatrick\u2019s parents usually accompany him to the biggest golf events of the year. They were there on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151268,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[39],"tags":[5904,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-151267","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-golf","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151267","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151267"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151267\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151268"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151267"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151267"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151267"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}