It is his first appearance since the 2025 Ryder Cup, and Collin Morikawa is already flustered by the ‘chaos’ that ensued at Bethpage. The Team U.S. player was one of Keegan Bradley’s Captain’s Picks ahead of the event in New York. Unfortunately, he didn’t live up to the expectations his team had from him, as he only scored ½ a point out of a possible 3. However, that was not the topic of conversation when he sat down in Japan for a press conference preceding a PGA Tour event. It was the fact that Morikawa called for chaos in New York, and the fans answered.

During the interview, he was asked about his statement of requesting the fans to bring chaos on the course. Morikawa told the reporter, “I think we’ve taken what I said a little out of context. I think Ryder Cups are meant to have a lot of energy, right, and I think me saying the word ‘chaos,’ I didn’t mean for them to be rude, right? So, like that’s not on me, I believe, for me to take credit for people being rude. I think what I meant was like I wanted energy, right? You wanted people to be proud of the country, the countries they’re rooting for.”

Apart from Collin’s horrid performance, Team U.S. overall had a terrible time at Bethpage. And the first couple of days really frustrated the fans attending the event. So much so that they resorted to harsh abuse of Team Europe. From name-calling, hosts leading abusive chants, to beers being thrown at his wife, Rory McIlroy alone suffered so many insults that he ended up losing his cool at the crowd a few times. But that is not what Morikawa wanted to see when he called for the New York fans to bring the chaos at Bethpage. As he clarified, he only wanted the fans to be energetic and support the team.

In fact, he also added, “I don’t think, you know, me saying one word, everyone listened and then — 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. I would say yeah, there’s a line that needs to be drawn, I believe. But I think that’s what’s so different and unique about golf is that we hear nearly everything what people say because people have access to be so close to us. 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. So I think you have to learn how to find that division of what’s appropriate and what’s not.”

Even though Morikawa may have tried to ignore it, the European pairings did face a lot of heckling in his group as well. He & Harrish English faced McIlroy & Tommy Fleetwood in both the foursome matches. On both occasions, his pairing lost quite convincingly, and the fans did end up abusing McIlroy. However, those moments didn’t receive much spotlight since it wasn’t nearly as bad as what the Irishman and Shane Lowry faced. Hence, Morikawa was also able to easily deflect from that issue and change the topic.

However, despite his clarification, the fans didn’t find his reasoning valid. In fact, they were left frustrated with what Collin Morikawa had to say to defend his comments. And they didn’t hold back on criticizing him.

Netizens slam Collin Morikawa for trying to save face

After the performance that he delivered at Bethpage, not many would be open to hearing what Collin Morikawa had to say. In fact, one of them even suggested, “This guy should’ve never been on the team.” Keegan Bradley had been questioned about picking Collin Morikawa as his Captain’s Pick, as many believed he himself would have added a lot more value to the team. The 2-time major winner didn’t win over any fans after he underperformed once again. And his excuses seem to only be getting on everyone’s nerves.

Speaking of excuses, a fan also wrote, “every time this dude talks i like him less and less.” This is not even the first time Morikawa has faced heat for his statements during press conferences. After his infamous walkout of the 2025 Arnold Palmer Invitational, he was heavily criticized for saying that he didn’t “owe anyone” any explanation. That is exactly what another fan also brought up when he said, “Morikawa’s a young guy who will someday learn to think a little more before speaking in public..An example of something he probably would like to restate: I don’t owe anything to anyone..” They still hope that Collin will learn to manage the media better one day.

Taking a jab at his performance at Bethpage, one of the fans wrote, “When colin showed up at Bethpage, his golf game was ‘out of context’.” A 0-2-1 record in New York was certainly not what Bradley was hoping Morikawa would achieve when picking him for the team. Interestingly, the 28-year-old had a better record in Rome of 1-3-0, earning ½ a point more to help Team U.S. back then.

Someone also found the entire situation hilarious as they said, “This dude will find anything to complain about lmao.” We’re unsure whether the laughter came from mockery or frustration over Collin Morikawa’s bad form, not only in the 2025 Ryder Cup, but the entire year.