Collin Morikawa denied that he had any part in encouraging the \u201crude\u201d heckling by American fans toward European competitors at last month\u2019s Ryder Cup, behavior the Team USA golfer said \u201ccrossed the line.\u201d<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old Morikawa took some heat for comments made ahead of this year\u2019s international clash at Bethpage Black, stating he hoped for \u201cabsolute chaos\u201d because the Americans \u201cwant to use that to our advantage\u201d when competing against Europe, the reigning Ryder Cup champs.<\/p>\n
Things escalated quickly on Long Island, where members of Team Europe and their families were mercilessly taunted<\/a>, including Rory McIlroy\u2019s wife, Erica Stoll, who was struck with a beverage<\/a> on the Farmingdale course.<\/p>\n Collin Morikawa of the United States speaks in a press conference prior to the Baycurrent Classic at Yokohama Country Club on October 8, 2025 in Yokohama, Japan. Getty Images<\/p>\n Spectators hold giant signs displaying the faces of Tommy Fleetwood (L), Jon Rahm and Rory McIlroy of Team Europe during the foursomes matches at the Ryder Cup on September 27, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York. Getty Images<\/p>\n \u201cI think we\u2019ve taken what I said a little out of context,\u201d Morikawa said<\/a> Wednesday ahead of the PGA Tour\u2019s Baycurrent Classic in Yokohama, Japan. \u201cI think Ryder Cups are meant to have a lot of energy, right, and I think me saying the word \u2018chaos,\u2019 I didn\u2019t mean for them to be rude, right? So like, that\u2019s 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?\u201d<\/p>\n The two-time major winner\u00a0explained that he alone doesn\u2019t hold the power to incite spectators. <\/p>\n \u201cYou wanted people to be proud of the country, the countries they\u2019re rooting for. So I don\u2019t think, you know, me saying one word, everyone listened and then \u2014 I don\u2019t think I have the power to do that amongst people. I think fans can do and say what they want sometimes,\u201d Morikawa said.<\/a><\/p>\n Rory McIlroy of Team Europe reacts on the 14th green during the Saturday afternoon four-balls matches of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Black Course at Bethpage State Park Golf Course on September 27, 2025 in Farmingdale, New York. Getty Images<\/p>\n Team Europe\u2019s Rory McIlroy (L) and Tommy Fleetwood during the singles at the Ryder Cup in New York on September 28, 2025. REUTERS<\/p>\n \u201cI think fans can do and say what they want sometimes. It probably crossed a line out there, so I would say there\u2019s a line that needs to be drawn. But what\u2019s 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. I think you have to learn how to find that division of what\u2019s appropriate and what\u2019s not.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite the heightened police presence<\/a> on the course, the rowdiness spilled over on the second day of the three-day tournament, when a flying beverage connected with Stoll. <\/p>\n PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague, who began the role earlier this year,\u00a0said he apologized<\/a>\u00a0to McIlroy, 36, and his wife, as well as the rest of the European team, after their 15-13 victory over Team USA.<\/p>\n Rory McIlroy of Team Europe and his wife Erica Stoll after defeating Team USA at the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black Golf Course in New York on September 28, 2025. James Marsh\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m disappointed in fan behavior, disappointed in the first tee and the emcee [Heather McMahan] that it\u2019s just that\u2019s not who we are, and I was just really, really, really disappointed,\u201d Sprague told The Athletic. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n McMahan stepped down from her role<\/a> as emcee at the Ryder Cup after the comedian was heard joining in on a profane fan chant directed at McIlroy. <\/a><\/p>\n McMahan \u2014 who said she apologized to the Northern Irishman and the European Ryder Cup team \u2014explained she did not start the \u201cf\u2013k you, Rory\u201d chant, and that she tried to shut it down but couldn\u2019t control the crowd.<\/p>\n The Ryder Cup will head back to Europe for 2027.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Collin Morikawa denied that he had any part in encouraging the \u201crude\u201d heckling by American fans toward European…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":287539,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[10132,115620,1430,1456,1478,8656,62,1486,67,132,68,2391],"class_list":{"0":"post-287538","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-golf","8":"tag-collin-morikawa","9":"tag-erica-stoll","10":"tag-golf","11":"tag-pga-tour","12":"tag-rory-mcilroy","13":"tag-ryder-cup","14":"tag-sports","15":"tag-sports-entertainment","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-unitedstates","18":"tag-us","19":"tag-wags"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115340716649574831","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287538","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=287538"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/287538\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/287539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=287538"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=287538"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=287538"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}