In my attempt to be more positive, I’ll start this article with a big round of applause for Cameron Young’s sensational win at The Players Championship.
Bogning one on the 17th, rolling home a tricky birdie putt and then making a drive 375 yards down the 18th fairway – the longest drive on that hole in the Shotlink era – is sensational stuff.
Young is an incredible talent and it was only a matter of time before he broke out in a big way. He won his first PGA Tour title, then played great golf in the Ryder Cup. Now he has a Players title.
He’s not a one trick pony either. Young takes his eyes off of it, but is also a tremendous iron player and an above-average shooter.
There are many more victories in his future. The floodgates can be opened.
We had a great week of The Players Championship. What an ending. Deserved champion. And the conditions were phenomenal! The tournament finally got the memo that a hard and fast Sawgrass is what we want to see.
But I have to get something off my chest
OK, now to the negative part (please be patient, there is only so much about myself that I can change).
What’s with this never-ending movement of golf crowds screaming the dumbest boos you’ve ever heard right after someone hits?
I know it’s been bad for years, but it feels like every shoot with a crowd in attendance is an open mic night forever. The golf tournament soundtrack is a collection of fans trying to rise above the cacophony to get a lift from their friends. We hear less screams and more disconnected screams.
And now it goes beyond that—we’re talking about golf crowds becoming increasingly belligerent (and, let’s face it, dumber) over the last few years.
You can hear these idiots making fools of Matthew Fitzpatrick as he aced the 18th on Sunday at TPC Sawgrass… because he plays for Europe in the Ryder Cup?
This is disgraceful behavior from a golf crowd. Since when does nationality matter in a tournament event to the point where fans have to root for Americans?
Sure, I think we can start singing USA in Young. It’s a little weird but it’s good.
It is certainly reasonable for the crowd to favor one player over another.
But yelling at a guy as he gets up to hit one of the most important shots of his life?
That’s out of bounds — and it wasn’t the only time the crowd was acting in a way we’re used to, at least here in the United States where post-Covid bro culture is pretty representative of modern golf galleries.
Just look at what happened at the Ryder Cup. It’s embarrassing.
It seems like a lot of people see golf events as an excuse to drink and start yelling at guys what the hell they want, whenever the hell they want to do it. They think they are invincible.
It’s clearly getting worse as so many events try to copy the atmosphere of the Phoenix Open.
And that’s not even mentioning how someone can gamble with a player and then verbally berate him in a way that is really outside the normal realm of what a golf tournament should consist of.
Kick (those fans) out of the tournament, Doug.
I miss when the golf crowd had a class
Golf should hold itself to a higher standard than this car.
Other sports have thicker boundaries between the crowd and the players. Jeering is part of the fabric of the sport, but it shouldn’t be part of the fabric of Tour events, as we saw on Sunday.
Is it too much to ask that golf fans have a little respect?
That’s why the Masters and the Open Championship are on another level. The patrons/galleries are civilized and only supportive. You dare not at Augusta or St Andrews. Come on now.
It’s a fine line. If you’re going to throw a party around a golf tournament, you can expect there to be some fans who don’t know how to handle their drinks or behave like a normal human being.
But the players themselves are owed a fair opportunity to play this extremely difficult game without being insulted during their pre-kick routine. This is not hockey or football.
At least wait until the shot is hit to yell “mashed potatoes” (very original).
Am I out of line here? Let me know below in the comments.
Main photo caption: Matt Fitzpatrick tees off on the 18th hole Sunday. (Getty Images/Richard Heathcote)
