Lanny Wadkins remembers being booed. And non-cheered.
Both moments came at away Ryder Cups. At the 1985 event, played at the Belfry in England, he’d been introduced on the first tee — and the American said he was jeered by the European faithful perched around him. Then, four years later, again at the Belfry, Wadkins chipped in on the 18th hole — and there was only silence.
“There must be five, six people deep behind the green,” he said. “Everybody’s got their arms folded, nobody applauding my eagle chip going in.
“They wanted it to miss.”
The memories came to mind for the major winner and seven-time Ryder Cupper when he was asked, on Golf Channel’s “Golf Today” show, about whether this year’s Ryder Cup crowd could cross a line. The thought has been raised previously ahead of the event at Bethpage Black on Long Island, N.Y., and last week, at the DP World Tour’s BMW PGA Championship, Rory McIlroy said European captain Luke Donald had been prepping his team by giving them virtual reality headsets in an attempt to mimic the noise.
“It is just to simulate the sights and sounds and noise,” McIlroy said in a story written by the Associated Press. “That’s the stuff that we are going to have to deal with. So it’s better to try to desensitize yourself as much as possible before you get in there. You can get them to say whatever you want them to say.
“So you can go as close to the bone as you like.”
As for Wadkins’ thoughts? On “Golf Today,” Wadkins said he hopes the Bethpage crowd will be under control — and he said he thought the American supporters have been “rowdy” in the past, but haven’t gotten out of hand.
The 1995 Ryder Cup captain also said this: “I always find it very interesting that we never say a word about what happens to us when we’re playing in Europe.” A short while later, he added with a grin:
“I mean, we got the same treatment over there. We just never complained about it.
“Sometimes I think the Europeans are just a bunch of wusses and can’t handle the heat.”
This year’s Ryder Cup starts next Friday morning at Bethpage Black.
Editor’s note: To watch the complete “Golf Today” interview with Wadkins, please clickhere.
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