Ryder Cup 2020 - Steve Stricker urges Team USA fans to be 'respectful' to Team Europe and not 'cross the line'

ByJames Walker-Roberts

Published 22/09/2021 at 15:53 GMT

The 43rd edition of the Ryder Cup starts on Friday with Team Europe looking to retain the trophy after winning last time out in France. Team USA are expected to be well supported at Whistling Straits with fans having to wait an extra year to watch the event after it was postponed in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Team USA captain Steve Stricker has urged home fans at this week’s Ryder Cup to be “respectful to both teams” and to not “cross the line”.

A partisan crowd is expected at Whistling Straits, especially with many supporters from Europe unable to travel across the Atlantic due to Covid-19 restrictions.

The last time the Ryder Cup was played in the USA at Hazeltine in 2016, Rory McIlroy had to ask for an abusive fan to be removed from the course after he said some “derogatory things”.

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"It's going to be rowdy,” said Stricker. “It's going to be loud and pro-USA, obviously so we're looking forward to that. We need that backing. Hazeltine crossed the line at times, which we don't want to see.

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"It's a Ryder Cup. These fans have been pent up for a long time and they're going to come out and get behind their team. It's going to be loud, and we expect it to be loud, but again, we ask for people not to cross that line and be respectful of both sides."

Team Europe’s Ian Poulter has said it has been "so far so good" in his interactions with fans during practice sessions at the course.

"The US fans have been brilliant to far," said Poulter, who is playing in his seventh Ryder Cup. "They're wishing me well. Not too well, but they're wishing me well, which is quite nice. That hasn't always been the case."

Poulter also says the one-sided support will only add to the spectacle and the achievement if Team Europe manage to retain the trophy.

“It's a great buzz. You only have to look around and all the grandstands are red. Everything that you look at, the fans, 98 percent are obviously going to be US fans this week. It's difficult from start to finish. It's hard. It's not easy to play away from home.

“As much as we feel comfortable as a team, to know we're underdogs, to know that, we have to play extra special this week to get the job done. It feels pretty rewarding at the end of the week if we can get it done.”

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Asked about his own impressive performances in previous Ryder Cups, Poulter said: “I hate losing. You see the guy, you know - when you play match play, you know what you have to do when you tee up on the first hole.

"You can control a match. You can dictate a match. You can play certain shots to try and put your opponent under pressure. You can't do that in stroke play really unless it comes down to the back nine and the group you're in, you're actually clear of the rest of the field.

“It's just a fun game of chess, to be honest, to enjoy what that means, that you're under pressure right from the get-go. It just doesn't happen in stroke play. It's kind of like you plod your way into the tournament, but it's back nine Sunday mentality every single time you tee it up.”

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