Edoardo Molinari has cleared up a number of talking points about what went on during a hostile second day at the 45th Ryder Cup…
Edoardo Molinari has brushed off claims that the European players were prepared to walk off during the Ryder Cup if abuse from the Bethpage crowd didn’t stop.
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, in particular, were subject to a number of personal heckles during their fourball match against Justin Thomas and Cameron Young in New York.
The lack of crowd control led to several tense moments between the players and the fans, and vice-captain Molinari was there to witness it all. Now, he has offered his take on the matter.
“I was out with Rory and Shane on Saturday afternoon – which was probably the worst part of the Ryder Cup,” he told Fried Egg Golf. “The worst crowd behavior I’ve ever seen on a golf course.
“Between the fourth green all the way through the eighth, it was almost unplayable. On the sixth green, Rory must have waited five or six minutes to hit his putt. I think that’s a bit too much.
“The official was trying to call for more marshals, more police. But I think when it gets that bad, it’s almost like the crowd somehow has to police themselves. You can shout and scream and say whatever you want, but not when the players are addressing the ball.”
Elsewhere, Matt Fitzpatrick, Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre reported incidents during a hostile second day at Bethpage. But matters were not helped when PGA of America president Don Rea downplayed the abuse and suggested it was just as bad two years ago in Rome.
But Molinari, who was also one of captain Luke Donald’s assistants at Marco Simone, was keen to clear that up.
“The loudness and the noise are the same,” he continued. “And that’s fine. There is nothing wrong with shouting or screaming when it’s time to do it.
“I would say what was very different is the amount of swearing at the players and heckling at the players. The swearing against you, your family, your kids, your daughter, your parents, whatever.
“In Rome, I think that the most insulting thing that happened was the people waving their hats to Patrick Cantlay. That’s two very different things.
“In New York, a lot of times players had to back off. We told players specifically to try to keep going and never back away no matter what happens because it would just make the crowds worse.
“In Europe, once the players are addressing the ball, everyone goes quiet. I had two Ryder Cup experiences at home – one as a player, one as a vice captain – and not once did an American player have to back off a shot because someone shouted in the backswing or while he was taking address. But it is the way it is.”
But, despite reports from some UK media outlets, Molinari said the idea that players would walk off if the abuse continued was “never discussed”.
“It was never talked about,” he added. “That’s not true at all. We were just trying our best not to irritate the crowds even more and just tried to be humble, tried not to react to them, which I thought we did a great job for a day and a half.
“When you’re exposed to that for 12 hours a day, eventually it gets to you. Obviously some players reacted, but I think that’s just a normal human reaction. It would have been impossible for anyone not to react for three straight days to what was going on.”
Molinari was, however, keen to point out that it the hecklers were in the minority.
“The sad thing is that there were probably 5,000 people around that green and because three or four idiots started shouting, then all of a sudden everyone looked bad,” he explained.
“Everyone else was absolutely fantastic and we got a lot of great support as well. In the practice rounds, we were signing and taking pictures and talking to the kids, and the amount of messages I received was overwhelming.
“A lot of people I had never met before were thanking us for being kind, for being open and so on.
“Again, 99 per cent of people were fantastic, but unfortunately there are always a few that make it look very, very bad.”
