Butch Harmon has one of the most recognizable voices in the professional game.
However, golf fans were robbed of listening to Harmon’s dulcet tones during the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in September.
Europe have totally dominated the Ryder Cup over the last 31 years, with the United States losing eight of the past 12 editions of the event.
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The Ryder Cup was held at Bethpage Black last year and some of the fan behavior was disgraceful to witness.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Shane Lowry holed the putt to retain the Ryder Cup for Europe before Tyrrell Hatton earned the half point needed for them to defend the trophy they won in 2023 in Italy.
However, despite some of the exceptional golf on display at Bethpage, much of the talk centered around the behavior of some of the US fans.
The so-called ‘banter’ crossed the line on numerous occasions, and the American fans became so wrapped up in taunting the European players that they actually forgot to support their own team.
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Butch Harmon on why he pulled out of Ryder Cup commentary gig
Harmon was due to be part of the Sky Sports commentary team for the biennial event last year.
However, the 82-year-old was absent from commentary duty during Ryder Cup week.
When speaking to The Telegraph in the UK, Harmon opened up on the reason why he chose not to be part of the Sky Sports’ broadcast at Bethpage Black last year.
“I thought the Ryder Cup was disgusting,” Harmon said.
“It was embarrassing being an American. I love the Ryder Cup, it’s my favourite one to broadcast and being from New York, I had planned to work with the Sky Sports team.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
“But I decided to pull out for that main reason. I felt we would spend more time talking about what’s going on in the gallery with the fans being unruly than we would the golf and I just didn’t feel I wanted to be part of it.“
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That goes to show just how poorly behaved some of the US fans were at Bethpage Black.
US fans’ unacceptable behavior at the Ryder Cup
Most golfers can take friendly banter from fans during Ryder Cups.
However, some of the abuse being hurled at the likes of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry was simply unacceptable.
Personal insults have no place on the golf course, certainly not during the Ryder Cup. That was not the spirit that was intended when the competition started in 1927.
Harmon made a stand by refusing to provide commentary for Sky Sports during the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black last year.
He wasn’t the only one who was affected either. Legendary commentator Ewen Murray recently admitted that he will be toning down his commentary duties moving forward after what he witnessed at Bethpage Black.
Hopefully, we will never have to witness such behaviour from US fans at the Ryder Cup ever again.
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