There was only one way the American golfers were going to win the Ryder Cup.
And that was if Donald Trump, the golfer in chief, had ICE arrest, detain and deport the visiting members of the European team, all foreigners.
He could have done it before the match even began with the American team winning by forfeit. That was when, after an impressive flyover aboard Air Force One, he greeted and pep-talked U.S. golfers.
The drunken louts who mocked and obscenely jeered the European Ryder Cup contenders at last weekend’s event at Bethpage Black golf course on Long Island would have loved it.
The border, after all, is supposed to be closed, they would have said. So, what are these European guys doing here, embarrassing American golfers by winning the prestigious Ryder Cup?
And all 12 members of the European team, not to mention their caddies, trainers and psychiatrists, were non-Americans as well.
Rory McIlroy, the champion golfer, is, for instance, from Northern Ireland in the U.K., while his golfing buddy Shane Lowry is from Ireland.
Jon Rahm is from Spain, Victor Houland is from Norway, Sepp Straka is from Austria, Rasmus Hojgaard is from Denmark, Ludwig Aberg is from Sweden, and so on.
The rest were from England, no doubt seeking asylum because free speech is so under attack in England that, were he alive today, Shakespeare would be under house arrest and his golf clubs confiscated.
Trump, before the U.S. team was totally outplayed and embarrassed by the Europeans, was cheered, with fans chanting his name and “USA, USA, USA.”
But it was all downhill from there, and quite nasty as well.
And even ICE could not have saved the golfers of the American Ryder Cup team. The Europeans smoked them.
And the only people detained, arrested or removed for obnoxious and disgusting behavior were drunken, rude and unruly fans from New York. They acted as though they were at a New York Jets game with paper bags over their heads instead of at the prestigious Ryder Cup.
Maybe New York expected Mayor-in-Waiting Zohran Mamdani to straighten things out
The event, which was shown on television around the world, had shots of fans lying around passed out from early morning booze, while security guards hustled other drunks away.
It was not a good look for golf.
It was not a good look for America.
McIlroy and Lowry were singled out for the worst of the harassment. It was so bad that Lowry at one point had to be restrained before punching out a fan yelling obscenities at him and McIlroy.
At another point, McIlroy shouted at a harassing fan to “shut the f—k up,” as he prepared for a shot.
At still another point, following derogatory insults about his marriage, a fan threw a beer at McIlroy and his wife Erica who followed McIlroy’s progress.
“I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy,” Lowry said later, “and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing, and the way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable, and kudos for her for that.”
And Erica is an American.
The breakdown of civility on the golf course — replaced by brutish personal and gang-like behavior — is yet another example of the breakdown of civility in America. Nothing is dignified anymore. Everything is trashed.
Here is what McIlroy, 36, said of America before the match. “It’s the land of opportunity. And I still believe it’s the best country in the world, and if you come here and work hard and dedicate yourself, you can be or do whatever you want.
“I am unbelievably grateful and lucky that I got to come to America early on. I think success is celebrated here.
“I have a lot of affinity towards this country, and I think everyone that lives here should have that same affinity because it’s a wonderful, wonderful place.”
Hopefully he still believes it.
Veteran political reporter Peter Lucas can be reached at: peter.lucas@bostonerald.com
