Keegan Bradley calls first-tee team moment powerful before Ryder Cup
Keegan Bradley shares how a first-tee gathering without fans became an emotional moment that bonded the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
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When the PGA of America announced it was taking its jewel event, the Ryder Cup, to Bethpage Black outside of New York City, you could almost hear the entire golf world say, “Oh, boy, this could be a problem.”
It’s not the golf course that is a problem. The Black Course at Bethpage has proven itself worthy of international competition starting with the 2002 U.S. Open, won by Tiger Woods, who was at or near the peak of his powers at the time.
But that U.S. Open was notable for a few other reasons. The response of the gallery, particularly toward two players, might have set a new standard – both good and bad – for golf fans. And that raucous week has golf fans and officials asking an important question this week: Is there a line that golf galleries shouldn’t cross, and will the Bethpage galleries at a Ryder Cup cross that line anyway?
Still without a major championship at the time, Phil Mickelson was embraced by the loud New York crowds in the 2002 U.S. Open. While Mickelson finished second to Woods, he was clearly the favorite of the galleries that week and became, in essence, the People’s Champion. He was now Arnold Palmer to Tiger Woods’s Jack Nicklaus.
On the bad side that week was Sergio Garcia. Garcia had been a thorn in Woods’ side for a couple of years, but Garcia was also going through a bit of a yip incident. Garcia was gripping and re-gripping the club maybe a dozen times, like he was revving up a motorcycle, before actually swinging. This did not please the New York crowds, which yelled, among other things, “C’mon, hit the ball!” on a regular basis. The boos and the taunts for the Spanish star were definitely at a new level for golf.
In defense of the New York crowd, there have been some pretty raucous crowds at Ryder Cups for more than three decades. That might have started at the 1991 event, the iconic War by the Shore at Kiawah Island in South Carolina. A tight competition, coupled with two losses and a tie for the United States team in the three previous matches, had American fans on edge. There was more partisanship, more taunting than we had seen in golf before.
There was the 1995 European comeback win in at Oak Hills, again in New York but away from New York City. The 1999 Ryder Cup featured Justin Leonard’s bomb of a putt on the 17th hole at Brookline in Massachusetts, capping not only his own singles comeback on the day but a massive comeback by the U.S. team. The celebration in the moment of the putt was spontaneous, but also over the top.
True, some of the American fans’ favorite targets for verbal insults aren’t at the Ryder Cup this week (think Colin Montgomerie). And it is possible that the men’s golf world is so homogenized now that he dividing line between the United States and European players doesn’t matter much anymore. Remember that two of the Europeans players this week, Sepp Straka and Jon Rahm, have a combined three wins in The American Express in La Quinta, for instance.
But this still is an international competition, and chants of “U-S-A! U-S-A! U-S-A!” are guaranteed. Some Europeans will be seen as villains when they win matches or even celebrate key putts. Rory McIlroy, one of the game’s most popular players, will be playing for the visitors. Some Americans, perhaps Bryson DeChambeau or maybe a captain’s pick like Sam Burns, will try to pump up the crowd on the first tee, which presents players with a difficult opening drive.
All of that is fine. This is not the U.S. Amateur or even a PGA Tour event where decorum is demanded. It’s the Ryder Cup and it is unique in golf, so the crowd can be unique, too.
But unique shouldn’t mean out of control. No, Bethpage Black shouldn’t be a cathedral this week, and it is certainly won’t be. But it doesn’t mean it needs to be a football game or MMA match, either. So the competition on the course might be interesting, but the action outside of the ropes might be just as interesting to watch. We can only hope it won’t be as raucous as the predictions.
Larry Bohannan is the golf writer for The Desert Sun. You can contact him at (760) 778-4633 or at larry.bohannan@desertsun.com. Follow him on Facebook or on X at @larry_bohannan.
