Insults, flying objects, and disrespect: the dirtiest Ryder Cup in golf

Barcelona"Are you watching, Donald Trump?" chanted the European team players after winning the prestigious Ryder Cup competition, which pits the best golfers from the United States against those from Europe, for the 14th time. Every two years, the competition brings together the sport's best players, alternating between an American and a European course. In fact, in 2031, a Catalan course will host the Cup for the first time, at the Camiral Resort Golf & Wellness in Caldes de Malavella.The Ryder Cup draws many fans and inspires passion among fans of the sport, but this year's edition has gone too far, with fan behavior unprecedented in this sport. When Irishman Shane Lowry hit the shot that sealed European victory, the Old Continent's celebrations began, while local fans booed them.

"They looked like football fans," joked Scottish player Robert MacIntyre. In recent years, the rivalry between Europeans and Americans has intensified. The Ryder Cup was born in 1927 to pit the United States against the United Kingdom, but in 1979 the British team evolved into a European team. And so ended the great era of American dominance, which has seen the Europeans beat them in recent years. Since 1995, Europe has won eleven strokes and the United States, just four. In the Ryder Cup, the geographical factor matters: the United States hasn't won a Ryder Cup away from home since 1993, for example, while the Europeans had already won away from home in 2012 and 2004.

That year's edition was held at Bethpage State Park on Long Island, New York. Being in New York brought out more European fans than ever, especially British, and ended up provoking curious images, such as the European Union flag next to the British one. Brexit stuff. The Europeans cheered a lot and copied football chants, but always to cheer on their own. Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy was sung a version of Zombie by The Cranberries, for example. But as the competition progressed, the Europeans began to understand, from the behavior of the local fans, that this would be a different Ryder Cup.

The European team had already been warned that the atmosphere would be hostile; the New York crowd has a reputation for being more aggressive. The Americans were running social media campaigns to scare their rivals, and it didn't help that Donald Trump, a huge golf fan, announced he would attend the competition on Friday to help "the kids in the country." The European team had even held training sessions with headphones on, playing loud music and swearing, to prepare themselves for what they might encounter. And so it was. "We had to get used to what we would find; our obligation is to anticipate the sensations we will experience," explained Luke Donald, the European captain.

The first day already saw scenes such as shouting just before hitting a shot to distract the European players. Things gradually became heated and the temperamental Rory McIlroy ended up becoming the focus of the American attacks. Since McIlroy is not one to hide, after being whistled, he smiled at the fans and pointed at the scoreboard showing that Europe was winning. So much attention was focused on him that a comedian hired to liven things up, Heather McMahan, used a megaphone to call for the American players to stop playing.Fuck you, RoryThousands of people sang the chant. McMahan said she was just trying to make a joke, but she was dismissed when the chant, which had first been sung with laughter, became more aggressive every time McIlroy got it right. "Would you please just shut up?" And after winning a point, he exploded.Fuck you!"he shouted, addressing the fans, as something even more unpleasant had happened: insults directed at the player's wife, who was hit by a plastic cup.

McIlroy himself said after winning that what happened that week was unacceptable. "We shouldn't accept this in golf. I think this sport should be held to a higher standard than what we've seen here these days," he said. The Northern Irish player even said, half-laughing, that he had seen many police dogs on the premises and that "they wished they had been released to silence the home fans." "We silenced them by playing golf. Now we'll celebrate properly," he added. He said this after a tournament in which Europe was consistently winning until the final round on Sunday, when a strong home performance almost ended in a comeback. It wasn't to be. The Europeans were able to have a big party and ended up singing a song dedicated to Trump. The American president responded, for once, with elegance: "Yes, I'm watching. Congratulations," he tweeted on social media.