After the crowd at the Bethpage Black Course moved from boos and heckles to homophobic slurs and insults aimed at players’ wives, questions about whether crowd behavior had gotten out of control became widespread. And once again, at TPC Sawgrass, the noise around the fairways raised the same question, only this time, Matt Fitzpatrick seemed unbothered.

“Listen, the crowd, that was literally child’s play compared to Bethpage. If they think that that was anything, then they need to reassess. Get yourself up to New York,” Fitzpatrick said in his post-round press conference. “That’s how it is. I would hope it’s the exact same if, well, it probably wouldn’t be because we’re a little bit more polite in Europe, I would say, but I would hope it would be of similar intensity in Europe. I knew it was coming. I had it with Jordan Spieth in 2023. Yeah, it’s funny to me. I find it hilarious.”

To understand why Matt Fitzpatrick was so unbothered, you need to know what actually played out on the ground at TPC Sawgrass. As he and Young walked the final holes, the galleries were audibly booing Fitzpatrick each time he stepped up, and the moment Young sank the winning putt, “USA! USA!” echoed around the course.

Young himself called it very partisan during his Golf Channel interview, admitting it was surprising even by his standards.

He also revealed that Fitzpatrick turned to him mid-round and asked, “Do you hate me too?” to which the 28-year-old responded, “No, I think we’re friends, Matt. We’re on the same TGL team. We’re good.”

The Bethpage benchmark Fitzpatrick referenced was another horror that the golfers were exposed to. At the 2025 Ryder Cup, European players walked into one of the most hostile crowd environments the event has seen in years, with Fitzpatrick squarely in the firing line. The atmosphere was aggressive enough that even his American wife found herself in an uncomfortable position over which side to visibly support.

Now, against that backdrop, a sunny Sunday in Florida with a few boos and patriotic chants genuinely does register as child’s play.

And if history is anything to go by, then this is not even the first time Fitzpatrick has played the villain in front of a pro-American crowd and come out smiling.

At the 2023 RBC Heritage, Fitzpatrick and Spieth were paired in the final round with the galleries firmly behind the defending champion. They went to a playoff, and Matt Fitzpatrick closed it out on the third hole with a near-holed approach that left a tap-in birdie. So when he name-dropped Jordan Spieth in his presser, he had already been the villain in front of a pro-American crowd. But victory was his, and he walked away unbothered.

So, Sunday at TPC Sawgrass, where he finished second and took home $2.75 million, was just another addition to the same story of PGA Tour fans booing.

When PGA Tour fans turn ugly

PGA Tour crowds have a history of turning on players, and TPC Sawgrass itself has seen this before.

Back in 2015, Sergio Garcia faced a heavily partisan crowd at the same PLAYERS Championship, with American galleries making their loyalties obvious as he contended for the title. Same course, same scenario, different European victims. This pattern at Sawgrass runs deeper than most realize.

In 2012, Kevin Na was openly taunted during the Championship’s final round, with fans mocking his pace of play loudly enough that commentators had to address it on air. That crowd had nothing to do with nationality. They simply found a target and went after him.

The WM Phoenix Open at TPC Scottsdale takes it even further every year. The par-3 16th operates like a stadium, with fans booing missed shots regardless of who is hitting them. Jordan Spieth has dealt with it. Tournament officials have had to step in over alcohol-fueled disruptions.

Now, Matt Fitzpatrick calling Sawgrass ‘child’s play’ starts to sound less like trash talk and more like an accurate assessment.