It’s no secret that things got ugly at Bethpage Black a few days ago. And we’re not only talking about the contest between Team U.S. & Team Europe on the course. Although the beating the Americans took in the first couple of days may have accounted for that. But the spectators on the 2025 Ryder Cup course in New York really crossed a lot of limits. And that created a lot of controversy, which may have turned the venue into one of the most chaotic places to host the event. And Xander Schauffele believes they are to blame for that.

The world #4 sat down for a press conference preceding the 2025 Baycurrent Classic. That’s when he was asked to share his comments on the crowd at Bethpage and if he thought they went overboard with their heckling. First, Schauffele recollected his experience playing the tournament, “It’s a tough thing. I’ve heard several things about a few of the things that were said. The guys I played with, Hovland and Bob the first day, or against, sorry, and then Jon and Sepp, I played Jon in individuals and then Jon and Tyrrell again, I believe.”

Xander was one of the two players in Team U.S. who found incredible success at Bethpage. He won three of the four matches he played, defeating the likes of Jon Rahm, Tyrrell Hatton, and Sepp Straka. However, despite his great performance, he was also very well aware of everything that was going on around the course. And he agreed that the fans didn’t treat his peers from Europe well.

In fact, even though he was the best player for Team U.S., Schauffele also told the reporter, “Yeah, there were some unsavory things said at certain times. You know, I really wish we could have played better to have them cheer for us a bit more. New York’s a tough place to play for anyone. I even got a few comments to play better. I’m not taking much personally when it comes to sort of what fans say.” Team U.S.’s terrible performance on day one & two really set the tone for the competition. It also set the mood for the fans at Bethpage, who increasingly grew frustrated. And instead of cheering for their team to play better, they targeted the Europeans to try and bring their morale down.

After everything that happened on Sunday, the fans might have helped Team U.S. gain some momentum. But Xander Schauffele was not the only one to shift the blame towards the American side for their disappointing performance, causing the outburst. Seems like that’s a common understanding among some of his teammates.

Xander Schauffele’s words resonate with some other Team U.S. members

It was not only Xander Schauffele who thought that Team U.S.’s performance led to the abuse Team Europe faced at Bethpage. Captain Keegan Bradley also had something similar to say during his post-tournament press conference. He said, “These guys were probably too focused on what they were doing because these New York crowds are tough. They had every right to be pissed off at us for being down and being at their course and not performing at what they felt like.” In the end, he stated that the fans were just a little too passionate.

However, former captain Tom Watson wasn’t as defensive about the supporters. He said, “More importantly, I’d like to apologize for the rude and mean-spirited behavior from our American crowd at Bethpage. As a former player, Captain and as an American, I am ashamed of what happened. #RyderCup.” He was extremely disappointed with what he witnessed at Bethpage and didn’t believe that the fans deserved to be excused.