Will behaviour at the Ryder Cup in Ireland be as disgraceful as in New York?

The Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black last year marked a shocking new low for crowd behaviour.

Now the concern is European fans going on a revenge-seeking mission instead of maintaining their self-adopted squeaky-clean reputation in 2027.

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At the Ryder Cup ‘Year to Go’ Press Conference on Tuesday, I asked both captains if crowd behaviour was a concern ahead of the matches at Adare Manor.

“We have to acknowledge that at Bethpage, the fan behaviour was over the top,” Furyk said. “I think it’s something that we need to reiterate and keep talking about. The PGA of America has taken steps for the future for that not to happen again.

“What I expect here is a great European crowd. I think we admire how well organised they are, how they use the chants from soccer to make even more noise in unison, and I expect they will be cheering and supporting their team like they always have.

“It’s always been a great crowd. I look forward to it, to be honest with you. I loved coming on the road.”

The abuse suffered by European players at Bethpage added to the decaying perception of US fans at this event. One of the many times the line was crossed was when a bottle was thrown at Rory McIlroy’s wife Erica.

A homophobic slur towards McIlroy was caught on camera, and generally shocking things more akin to football matches regularly left the mouths of US fans.

There is also a perception that European scribes and those in Team Europe’s dressing room feed this narrative. But the reality is the behavioural gap between both sets of fans is closer than we think, and we must hope European fans don’t see it as ‘their turn’ and drag the event further through the mire.

At the 2023 Ryder Cup in Italy, US balls were cheered into the water, short missed putts were celebrated, and Patrick Cantlay could probably repeat some regrettable barbs thrown at him that weekend, after it was reported he wasn’t wearing a hat to protest at not being paid to play.

The only other Ryder Cup held in Ireland was at the K Club in 2006, but a better example of what we might expect from Irish fans was at the Irish Open in 2025 at the same venue, won by Rory McIlroy.

It was no surprise to see a passionate crowd behind McIlroy, who had won the career grand slam at the Masters five months before. But eyebrows were raised as loud jubilation met Joakim Lagergren’s ball finding the water in the playoff, gifting victory to the home favourite.

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Can European fans guarantee a well-behaved Ryder Cup?

McIlroy will likely find himself on another European team with Shane Lowry next year, another Irishman who stole the country’s hearts by winning The Open at Royal Portrush in 2019.

The noise when they are presumably paired together and arrive on the tee in Limerick will be deafening, even louder when they start making birdies, and possibly louder when those who they’re playing against make bogeys.

Neither are strangers to stoking up fans in their favour, nor are they hesitant to bite back when they hear something they don’t like.

Some crimes are worse than others, and US fans did plummet to rock bottom when the matches were played around 30 miles from New York City last year. But can European fans claim to be angels? Will they be the angels of Adare?

“It’s certainly my responsibility as the home captain to play this Ryder Cup in the right spirit, and that’s what, in conjunction with Jim and their team, we’ll want to do. We want the best team to win on the golf course,” European captain Luke Donald said.

“Everything I’ve seen, all the previous examples of playing here in Ireland, has been the case, and so I expect that to happen next year again at Adare.”

The Ryder Cup could be described as a series of pinch points and moments of extreme tension, where a fan, player, or even a caddie, can snap. What we also saw at Bethpage 12 months ago were angry reactions from players towards the fans, which didn’t exactly cool the atmosphere.

When all of this is thrown in the pot, not a lot of good comes out. This is why we can’t just blame America for the spiral.

What we are talking about is an event that has generally descended into a shouting match far removed from the traditions of the game. Given the point that Bethpage dragged us to, who is to say European fans aren’t now hunting for their pound of flesh?

We shouldn’t expect to see the grim scenes of Bethpage at Adare Manor. But would any antics really surprise us at this point?

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