When asked about the abuse Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry faced at Bethpage, the President of the PGA of America, Don Rea, said, “I haven’t heard some of that, and I’m sure it has happened… Rory understands.” Whether you consider it dismissive or ignorant, his response didn’t sit well with anyone in the golf community. It didn’t paint a good picture of the PGA of America as either. Weeks after the incident, he continues to face scrutiny from other leaders in golf. This time, it was the Augusta National boss.

As shared by Golf Monthly, the Augusta National chairman, Fred Ridley, weighed in on the issue. The R&A chief executive, Mark Darbon, had also joined the conversation during the interview. Darbon said, “We as leaders within the sport need to perpetuate and exemplify and role model and showcase those values, because without them, it will become much harder to grow this game.”

Golf is certainly growing far and wide outside the United States. The inception of LIV Golf and the popularity of big European events like the DP World Tour Championship have made that possible. But if European pros continue to get mistreated by the American fans, it will be challenging to attract talent from around the world to the PGA Tour or to play in the United States.

Ridley also added to the conversation as he said, “I don’t think that anyone was particularly happy with what happened this year. I think it just reminds us, as custodians of the game, of the responsibility that we have to perpetuate its underlying values. I think hopefully that this is something we’re going to focus on more, because I think that’s part of what makes golf special is that it is a different sort of set of rules, if you will.”

“And so it’s something I think we need to work on, and it’s something I think I hope everyone involved with the game will reflect on, so we continue to perpetuate the great things got the game of golf.” Like most in the world, the Augusta National chairman wasn’t happy with how the PGA of America President handled the situation. As subtle as it was, it’s evident that he was also taking a dig at Rea for his awkward response that went against the spirit of the game.

This is not the first instance Don Rea has faced criticism over his statement at Bethpage. Other than Fred Ridley and Mark Darbon, others have also questioned the PGA of America President’s intent. Let’s see what others said about him.

Don Rea faced criticism for the Ryder Cup 

Soon after Don Rea claimed his ignorance of the mistreatment of Team Europe at Bethpage, quite a few expressed their disappointment in how he handled the situation. The initial backlash came from the netizens, who were shocked to learn how he reacted.

They shared how disgraceful it was for a PGA of America leader to behave this way. Reports also came in that he was seen performing during a karaoke session for the players hours after the Rory McIlroy & Erica Stoll beer incident on Saturday.

After the fallout, Rea released a statement on his official LinkedIn account saying that “I am not bothered” about what people were saying. That also got him a lot of heat as analyst Michael McEwan questioned him for “Doubling down” on the statement, calling it a bold strategy. Don Rea’s statement certainly presented the PGA of America quite negatively. Even if he did track back with an apology to Rory McIlroy & Erica Stoll, it will be hard for everyone to forget the damage he had already done.