Collin Morikawa asked for “chaos” ahead of the Ryder Cup – but that wasn’t what he had in mind.
Speaking Wednesday ahead of the PGA Tour’s Baycurrent Classic, his first start since his U.S. team lost the Ryder Cup at home for the first time in more than a decade, Morikawa said he didn’t take any responsibility for riling up the crowd ahead of the biennial matches.
Before the Ryder Cup, Morikawa said that he was surprised by the tameness of the crowds during the practice rounds and was hoping for “chaos” during the matches, because the Americans could use that energy to their advantage.
“I think we really have to tap into that,” he said at the time. “I hope they come strong.”
But Morikawa, who went 0-2-1, didn’t envision the crowd behavior like what the players experienced at Bethpage Black and admitted that it “crossed a line.” Several players were targets of the hostile crowd, none more so than Rory McIlroy, who endured abusive taunts and comments that disrupted his pre-shot routine.
“I think we’ve taken what I said a little out of context,” Morikawa told reporters on Wednesday. “Ryder Cups are meant to have a lot of energy, and I think me saying the word ‘chaos,’ I didn’t mean for them to be rude, right? So that’s not on me, I believe, for me to take credit for people being rude.
“What I meant was I wanted energy, right? You wanted people to be proud of the country they’re rooting for. Me saying one word, everyone listened, but 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. It wasn’t in my groups, but definitely what people were hearing. There’s a line that needs to be drawn.”
The PGA of America has publicly apologized for what it viewed as unacceptable fan behavior, and it vowed to provide a better experience for players and spectators at the 2029 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine.
Morikawa said, unlike in football or basketball stadiums, golf is unique in that fans are closer to the action – just outside the rope lines, and able to make their voices heard instead of being drowned out in a packed stadium.
“You look at a lot of other sports, you don’t really hear much. Things are said, but golf has that different aspect to it,” he said. “So I think you have to learn how to find that division of what’s appropriate and what’s not.”
Xander Schauffele, the team’s leading points-getter at 3-1, said that fans were mostly frustrated with the players’ performance.
“There were some unsavory things said at certain times,” he said Wednesday, “and I really wish we could have played better to have them cheer for us a bit more. New York’s a tough place to play for anyone. I even got a few comments to play better. I’m not taking much personally when it comes to what fans say.”
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