NO FANS, NO FUN: EUROPE CAPTAIN WANTS US SUPPORTERS TO BRING ON THE NOISE
KOHLER, UNITED STATES— Europe captain Padraig Harrington says he doesn’t mind if American fans bring on the noise at the Ryder Cup even if the COVID-19 pandemic reduces the number of Europe supporters at Whistling Straits.
After the biennial team golf showdown between United States and Europe was postponed for a year because no fans could have attended under 2020 pandemic safety rules, the Irishman doesn’t mind a hostile crowd when play starts on Friday.
“Our players play for the glory of this event,” Harrington said on Monday. “If there was 40,000 US fans and no Europeans, we’d prefer that than having no fans. That’s just the reality.
“We want the noise. We want the excitement. We want the buzz of it all. Yes, the players will have to deal with it and yes, they will have to embrace it. But they wouldn’t want the alternative. Having no fans is no fun. They will enjoy it.”
European teams have won nine of the past 12 Ryder Cups, including 2018 in France and three of the past six on US soil.
With such veterans as Rory McIlroy, Sergio Garcia, Lee
Westwood and Ian Poulter on the squad, Europe knows what to expect with COVID-19 travel rules hindering European travel to the Wisconsin shores of Lake Michigan.
“Europe has a strong team when it comes to experience,” Harrington said. “That’s quite relevant when you’re playing an away match.”
“We expect a loud crowd. We expect excitement, and the players should be well-prepared for it. It’s not like they haven’t seen it before. After all, it is only golf. It’s pretty safe inside the ropes. I don’t think they need to worry about too much.”
Harrington also isn’t worried about Spanish world No. 1 Jon Rahm, who won the US Open in June, missing the cut last week in a US Professional Golfers’ Association Tour event.
“He was lifting very nicely in the gym today when I arrived,” the Irishman said. “I arrived in to find him too sweaty to give a hug to, lifting some heavy weights. I said, ‘OK, things are looking good.’”
Harrington says Europe enters with a game plan but can adapt quickly if it falls apart.
“There are unknowns, things change as you go on through the week,” he said. “We have plenty of options and that’s the main thing.”
The Ryder Cup does not begin until Friday but the gamesmanship was well underway as Harrington and his US counterpart Steve Stricker put their poker faces on, refusing to tip their hands.
Players will spend the next three days getting a feel for the rugged layout that hugs the Lake Michigan shore with practices providing an endless source of speculation over possible pairings until all is revealed by the two captains ahead of Friday’s opening session.
“That’s your job in the media is to make a story out of it,” said Harrington. “I’m not going to say what it means or what it doesn’t mean (players practicing together).
“I do have ideas about what should be happening in practice, but it’s for you to figure it out, not me to tell you.”