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Twitter Sportsmanship on hold; U.S. captain OKs applauding at European mistakes
At most professional golf events, players feel a sense of camaraderie against one another, often never facing their competitors in head-to-head combat. However, the Ryder Cup seems to place golf in an entirely new arena as players represent an entire nation (or, as in Europe's case, an entire continent).
With this unique mindset, it seems that America's Ryder Cup captain is willing to revise the code of conduct that fans are generally expected to abide by.
Paul Azinger stated, “Essentially, you know, when we go over there, they cheer when we miss, I don’t think that the American fans are really into what the Ryder Cup is all about in the fact that, you know, there is that other element.”
Golf Channel.com reports, "Sportsmanship, however, takes on a little different hue during the Cup. Azinger told fans at Valhalla it was OK to applaud when the Europeans make a mistake."
It seems that even Tiger Woods(pictured right), recovering at home, is in the Ryder Cup spirit. He, according to Azinger, sent a text message that said, "Kick their behind" before today's matches.
With Europe having already fallen behind, it will be interesting to see if America can capitalize on home-country advantage and claim the Cup for the first time in nine years.
It certainly riled Lee Westwood when Boo Weekley was celebrating his putts and geeing up the crowd while Lee still had his putt to make. I don't think they'll care about the crowd cheering their misses though, it's just to be expected at the Ryder Cup these days. The Kentucky crowd seem to be too polite to actually try to put off players on their swing like they did at Brookline and Kiawah, which has been nice to see.