Collin Morikawa admits the behaviour of American fans at the Ryder Cup “crossed the line” but he denies he was partly to blame for inflaming the atmosphere.
Two days before the event started at Bethpage in New York, the two-time major winner said he hoped the opening day was “absolute chaos”.
Once the tournament started, Europe’s players were subjected to abuse from the galleries and Rory McIlroy’s wife, Erica, had beer thrown at her. PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague said he would apologise to McIlroy and the rest of the European team for the behaviour of the home fans.
Morikawa, who lost two and halved one of his three matches at the tournament, agreed USA fans had gone too far but denied any personal responsibility.
“I think we’ve taken what I said a little out of context. I think Ryder Cups are meant to have a lot of energy, right, and I think me saying the word ‘chaos’, I didn’t mean for them to be rude, right?,” he said. “So like that’s not on me, I believe, for me to take credit for people being rude. I think what I meant was like I wanted energy, right?
“You wanted people to be proud of the country, the countries they’re rooting for. I don’t think me saying one word, everyone listened – I don’t think I have the power to do that amongst people. I think fans can do and say what they want sometimes. It probably crossed a line out there so I would say there’s a line that needs to be drawn.
“But what’s so different and unique about golf is that we hear nearly everything what people say because people have access to be so close to us. I think you have to learn how to find that division of what’s appropriate and what’s not.”
Morikawa was speaking before the PGA Tour’s Baycurrent Classic – which he won in 2023 – being hosted in Yokohama, Japan.
The tournament is already being affected by warnings about the incoming Typhoon Halong, with Thursday’s tee times brought forward by two hours.
“You just have to adjust a lot tomorrow and be ready really to hit any club off the tee because it’s going to play very different than what we’ve seen the first couple days,” added Morikawa.
