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Matt Fitzpatrick helped Team Europe lift the Ryder Cup trophy on Sunday after a phenomenal display of talent at Bethpage Black. Following the conclusion of the tournament, he didn’t hold back on airing his feelings about the behaviour of fans during the tournament.
Fitzpatrick and his fellow European players bore the brunt of heckles and verbal attacks from fans during the 45th edition of the Ryder Cup. During a media session at St. Andrews, Fife, he spoke about his experience at Bethpage Black and revealed that fans attacked his personal appearance, not just his golfing abilities.
“I think for me personally, people were giving me abuse about my braces. They were giving me abuse about my Skechers. Like that was kind of the extent that I heard. I'm sure there were probably words that I didn't hear,” he said.
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The nine-time DP World Tour winner noted that while he didn't enjoy the heckles, golfers such as Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry had it “a lot worse” than he did. He tagged the crowd’s behaviour as “unacceptable” and added that it was worse because the American fans were simply “shouting random obscenities” whereas the European fans were “creative” with their chants.
Matt Fitzpatrick further slammed the PGA of America for not giving a genuine apology on behalf of American fans. He also noted that there may have been some underlying bitterness in the way they congratulated them after their victory.
“I saw the interview with the PGA guy discussing about it was the same in Rome. It's pretty offensive to European fans the fact that he said that, really. You know, I don't want to speak on behalf of everyone but we did feel there was a little bit of bitterness when we got to the -- when they presented the trophy there,” Matt Fitzpatrick said.
The Sheffield native added that while he wasn’t necessarily looking for an apology from the PGA of America, many of his American friends reached out to him to apologize for the fans’ behaviour over the weekend.
Matt Fitzpatrick names his picks for the next European Ryder Cup captain
During the previously mentioned press conference at St. Andrews, Fife, Matt Fitzpatrick shared his thoughts on who could captain Team Europe in the next Ryder Cup. He said that while Francesco Molinari would be a good pick, Edoardo Molinari could also do a good job.
“To me, Edoardo is No. 1 in the business by a complete mile. How he's helped Luke and the vice captains and how he's shaped the team, pairings, [and] qualification, has been outstanding in my opinion. I think there's a lot of credit that needs to go to Edoardo as well,” Fitzpatrick shared.
Notwithstanding, the 31-year-old golfer acknowledged that Francesco is a “great character” and humorous person to be around. He also noted that whoever takes the job of captaincy in 2027 would have big shoes to fill because Luke Donald has “created a high bar” for the next captain.
