U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley offered a warning Tuesday about Bethpage Black that does not need a special sign by the first tee: Organizers will have security inside the ropes to make sure the New York crowd doesn’t get out of control.
Bradley and European captain Luke Donald met in Manhattan for a news conference signally (roughly) a year out from the Sept. 26-28 matches at Bethpage Black, the public course on Long Island with a reputation for rough crowds.
“I have total faith in the fans of New York to cheer on their team, proudly and loudly,” Bradley said. “I don’t want them to cross the line, to do anything that would affect the course of play. But it’s going to be a tough atmosphere. It’s going to be tough for both teams.”
Bradley said there would be security “monitoring the situation.”
“It’s really important to us — the U.S. side — that it’s a fair place to play for both teams,” he said. “Nobody on either team wants this to get uncomfortable or weird out there. But listen, you come into Yankee Stadium, you come into Madison Square Garden, you come into these places, it’s a tough place to play, and Luke and the boys know that.
“The PGA of America is going to do a great job making sure everything’s right.”
Bethpage State Park has a sign on the first tee that says, “Warning: The Black course is an extremely difficult course which we recommend only for highly skilled golfers.”
The skill level won’t be an issue. Bradley said he is keeping the same criteria for the American team — six qualifiers through the points list, six captain’s picks — and he and Donald said they wouldn’t hesitate to take players from Saudi-backed LIV Golf if they are eligible.
The crowd is as notorious as the difficulty of Bethpage Black, the first truly public golf course (excluding high-end resorts) to host the Ryder Cup. It previously held the U.S. Open in 2002 and 2009, and the PGA Championship in 2019, when Brooks Koepka heard it from the crowd as he was letting a big lead slip away before holding on to win.
Sergio Garcia was heckled so badly in the 2002 U.S. Open, when he was constantly regripping the club, that the Spaniard answered with the middle finger.
And now there are American and European flags involved at the most patriotic event in golf. It’s tough on the opposing team regardless of which side of the Atlantic Ocean the matches are played, but American crowds stand out.
Europe at least will have fans, unlike the last time on U.S. soil at Whistling Straits when the COVID-19 pandemic made it almost an entirely U.S. fan base.
“The Ryder Cup is special because it is spirited. Passions are high. Energy is high,” Donald said. “You want to see that amongst the players. You certainly don’t want to see the spirit of the Ryder Cup endangered in any way.
“But again, the PGA of America have things in place. If there’s outbursts or if there’s anything deemed inappropriate, they will deal with that.”
Bradley, who won the BMW Championship in August and delivered the winning point for the Americans in the Presidents Cup last month, has said he would give up his captaincy to play the Ryder Cup team only if he made the team on points.
That’s so far out that he said it’s not on his mind, though he would have assistant captains in place to take over if that’s how it plays out.
Koepka was the only LIV player on the American team that lost last year at Marco Simone outside Rome. Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton had not yet defected to LIV. Donald said those two, or any other European-born player with LIV, could be considered as long as they met rules for being a European tour member.
As for the U.S. points system, it rewards 1 point for every dollar earned at majors and The Players Championship in 2024, and 1 point on the dollar for every tournament in 2025 (except opposite-field events), and 1.5 points on the dollar at the 2025 majors.
Xander Schauffele, a double major winner this year, has a narrow lead over Scottie Scheffler, who won the Masters and The Players Championship. Schauffele performed better in the other two majors he didn’t win.
Europe has won 10 of the last 14 times dating to 1995, though winning on the road is becoming more difficult ever since Paul Azinger persuaded the PGA of America to change its qualifying system to be based off money when he was the winning captain in 2008.
Europe’s last road win was in 2012 at Medinah, when it staged a stunning rally.
“The last few times we’ve played away, the results have been one-sided towards the U.S.,” Donald said. “In a tough environment, we will be the underdogs.”
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