The Europeans are at Bethpage Black preparing for an intense test on the fairway. Their skills will certainly be challenged as they take on the Americans in an attempt to retain the Ryder Cup title. But beyond that, the visiting side will also face another mammoth obstacle in the transatlantic event: the fans.

The spectators at the Ryder Cup are known for giving the visiting side a tough time. Over the years, the away team has consistently struggled to perform, as they have been constantly heckled and berated by the home fans. Players have been largely distracted, and even world beaters like Scottie Scheffler and Tiger Woods have lost focus when visiting Europe. But this time around, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm & Co. will face the wraith of the New York locals.

Advice would be not to bring their partners or parents along to join them on the course. There have been quite a few instances where families of visiting players have been bashed by the fans. Just ask Shane Lowry’s wife, and she will tell how what she experienced during the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits.

While cheering for her husband by the ropes, she was constantly abused by the supporters in Haven, Wisconsin. In fact, one of them even called her a w***e, as reported by Joshua Jones of The U.S. Sun. Xander Schauffele’s father was appalled by the behavior of the fans, as he was quoted as saying, “It’s only going to get worse. It’s ruined my appetite for the Ryder Cup. It becomes unwatchable.”

This is not even the first instance where families of European pros have been abused on American soil.

The infamous Battle of the Brookline in 1999, which witnessed Team U.S. disgracefully run on the 17th hole green after a putt to celebrate their probable win, had other controversies as well. Unfortunately, they were overlooked because of the pitch invasion that prevented José María Olazabal from getting a clear lie to halve the score. 

Recollecting the scenes from The Country Club, Andrew Coltart stated, “My wife wasn’t getting abused because she was back home as she’d just given birth the week before to our first child. But some of the other wives and girlfriends had been getting abuse from the crowd. It was just normal derogatory things that, unfortunately, you would expect from a group of blokes that probably had too much to drink.”

Based on what he saw in Brookline, Coltart strongly advised partners of Team Europe players to stay home or at least not make an appearance at Bethpage.

While we’ve mostly discussed the atmosphere for the Europeans on American soil, Bethpage Black alone presents a challenge they might have never faced in the past. The locals from the New York stadium might not just target their abuse towards international golfers and their partners. Some national players have also faced their wraith in the past. Let’s look at a few incidents where spectators at Bethpage have made sure the players know that the locals are not supporting them.

Bethpage spectators see no allies

Brooks Koepka had a 7-stroke lead when he stepped onto Bethpage Black for the final round of the 2019 PGA Championship. It was evident that he was the favorite to win the tournament. He didn’t have the most promising start as he scored a bogey in the very first hole. But the Bruce Cupcakes made up for it with a birdie on the 4th. After another 1-under on the 10th, he must have felt that he was on top of the world, only to go through one of the worst runs of his career.

Pushing for his fourth major win, Koepka managed to score four bogeys in a row from 11th to 14th. On the 14th green, he started hearing the crowd chanting “Dee-Jay! Dee-Jay! Dee-Jay!”, as reported on Golf Digest 75. What would have motivated many turned into fuel for Brooks as he turned things around quickly.

“When they started chanting ‘DJ’ on 14, it actually kind of helped, to be honest with you. I think it helped me refocus and hit a good one down 15. That was probably the best thing that could have happened.”

Koepka ended up pushing hard for the next four holes, only adding another bogey to his score. He was able to regain some momentum. And despite Dustin Johnson creeping up behind him and a 4-over 74 in the final round, he managed to win the 2019 PGA Championship by 2 strokes.

As Joel Beall quoted Harold Varner III on the Golf Digest 75 article, “If they are doing this to Brooks, what the hell are they going to do to Europe?”

While Team Europe might face the wrath of the fans at Bethpage, if the Americans are on the verge of losing on Sunday. They, too, will catch some heat just like Brooks Koepka. In fact, Luke Donald had already warned the PGA of America about how they and the players might get bashed by the crowd if, after paying such high ticket and merchandise prices, Team U.S. ended up losing the 2025 Ryder Cup title on home soil.

There is a lot at play at Bethpage Black this year. With three LIV Golf players in the mix, fans have some easy targets they might pick to lash out at. Considering how strong Team Europe is perceived before the tournament, the American players might also get some heat to play better. The Irish population in New York might also show some support towards the likes of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry during their matches. It will be interesting to see how all this will come into play in the next few hours.