\ufeffWatch the 2025 Men\u2019s T20 Internationals LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on FOX CRICKET, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n The situation got so hostile that state troopers were called to the golf course to create a human barrier between players and spectators, and throw out offenders.<\/p>\n McIlroy condemned the actions of the US spectators<\/a>, many of whom paid more than $1000 for their tickets, during team Europe\u2019s press conference on the final evening, while American great Tom Watson was so disgusted that he issued a public apology on behalf of his country<\/a>.<\/p>\n Europe holds on to win Ryder Cup | 03:42<\/p>\n But Pietersen said all of that was a smidgen of the abuse he received while patrolling outfields at the Gabba, Adelaide Oval, WACA, MCG and SCG.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve played in some hostile environments in Australia,\u201d Pietersen told Sky Sports News. <\/p>\n \u201cI can relay some stories, which I won\u2019t do, which were so bad. That\u2019s sport, it is what it is.<\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s not the game of golf, and I get it, and I understand it, but for one week of the year, it is what it is.<\/p>\n \u201cThese guys are there, they\u2019re fiercely competitive, they want to try to back their team, they\u2019re playing for their country.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve had some pretty dark experiences in Australia playing for England. From what I saw, some of it pales into significance when compared to some of the things I\u2019ve heard when playing in Australia.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just understand it and you accept it and you get on with it. <\/p>\n \u201cMcIlroy reacts the way McIlroy reacted, and it\u2019s amazing. It\u2019s great for the sport, it\u2019s great for that event.<\/p>\n \u201cBut it\u2019s just a week of the year that just gets everybody gripped into the game. <\/p>\n \u201cWe all were, we all loved it, and they all live happily ever after. Monday morning, they\u2019ll all be friends again, and everything\u2019s good.\u201d<\/p>\n LONDON, ENGLAND – JUNE 13: Kevin Pietersen, former England international cricket player, speaks during an interview on day three of the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 between South Africa anf Australia at Lord’s Cricket Ground on June 13, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Hewitt\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n The South African-born, polarising batter boasted an impressive Test record in Australia, scoring 1,144 runs at 45.76 across 15 Tests, including two centuries and a mammoth 227 in Adelaide in 2010, despite being a regular target of Australian crowds.<\/p>\n He was a target for English supporters too by his final tour as he never played Test cricket again for his adopted nation after the disastrous 2013\/14 series for the tourists.<\/p>\n Pietersen was said to fallout with many of his teammates, as well as the English coaching staff, on that tour with dressing room angst the final straw after multiple indiscretions throughout his international career.<\/p>\n The English Cricket Board said they needed to rebuild \u201cteam ethic and philosophy\u201d when announcing Pietersen\u2019s axing shortly after the final Test in Sydney.<\/p>\n He had been the leading run scorer in a difficult series for English batters courtesy of Mitchell Johnson\u2019s rampaging 37 wicket haul across the five Test.<\/p>\n The now 45-year-old went on to play four seasons for the Melbourne Stars in the BBL post his England career.<\/p>\n ST ANDREWS, SCOTLAND – SEPTEMBER 30: Former cricketer Kevin Pietersen plays a practice round at Kingsbarns prior to the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship 2025 at The Old Course on September 30, 2025 in St Andrews, Scotland. (Photo by Jan Kruger\/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images<\/p>\n Pietersen will partner German professional golfer Yannik Paul in this week\u2019s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship played across famed Scottish links courses St Andrews, Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.<\/p>\n Other notable sporting names taking part in the renowned DP World Tour event include: <\/p>\n Fox Cricket\u2019s Michael Vaughan, who is paired with Australian PGA champion Elvis Smylie. <\/p>\n Ice hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, playing with his son-in-law Dustin Johnson. <\/p>\n Tennis great Andy Murray, partnering English golfer Eddie Pepperell.<\/p>\n Surfing legend Kelly Slater, alongside 2012 Ryder Cup winner Nicolas Colsaerts.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen has said the poor US crowd behaviour at the Ryder Cup \u201cpales into…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195507,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[71],"tags":[1926,23,3780,1246,88692,113269,113282,113273,113277,113257,35853,113268,113281,9333,113265,113271,113279,1076,113260,113288,113278,113280,427,15226,113289,113270,113262,113254,113275,113285,113286,113267,113272,1150,113255,113274,113287,113259,92923,2005,112165,4265,113266,25798,113284,79668,113261,113258,4933,6082,9121,113256,65991,5705,21901,99,113263,28671,113283,113264,16339,1049,19,73880,113276],"class_list":["post-195506","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-golf","tag-africa","tag-america","tag-andy-murray","tag-australia","tag-australia-and-new-zealand","tag-australian-crowds","tag-cricket-career","tag-crowd-behaviour","tag-cup-winner","tag-dressing-room-angst","tag-dustin-johnson","tag-eddie-pepperell","tag-elvis-smylie","tag-england","tag-english-batters-courtesy","tag-english-coaching-staff","tag-english-cricket-board","tag-europe","tag-europe-holds","tag-final-evening","tag-german-professional-golfer","tag-getty-images-inc","tag-golf","tag-golf-course","tag-ice-hockey-legend","tag-international-cricket-player","tag-jan-kruger","tag-kelly-slater","tag-kevin-pietersen","tag-leading-run-scorer","tag-legend-kelly-slater","tag-links-championship","tag-links-courses","tag-london","tag-melbourne-stars","tag-michael-vaughan","tag-mike-hewitt","tag-mitchell-johnson","tag-new-south-wales","tag-new-york","tag-nicolas-colsaerts","tag-north-america","tag-northern-america","tag-northern-europe","tag-notable-sporting-names","tag-oceania","tag-partnering-english-golfer","tag-patrolling-outfields","tag-press-conference","tag-rory-mcilroy","tag-scotland","tag-series-whitewashes","tag-sky-sports-news","tag-south-africa","tag-southern-africa","tag-sports","tag-surfing-legend-kelly","tag-sydney","tag-t20-internationals-live-ampamp-exclusive-on-fox-cricket","tag-the-gabba","tag-tom-watson","tag-united-kingdom","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-wayne-gretzky","tag-yannik-paul"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195506","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195506"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195506\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195507"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195506"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195506"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195506"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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