Collin Morikawa called for the crowd at Bethpage to cause “absolute chaos” for Team Europe when the Ryder Cup tees off on Friday. Morikawa was on the U.S. team that suffered a heavy loss at the hands of the Europeans in Rome two years ago, and the 28-year-old insists that the U.S. team is eager to reclaim the title.
Morikawa Wants To Use “Chaos” To America’s Advantage
Luke Donald and his European side trained with Virtual Reality headsets to mimic Bethpage’s hostile atmosphere, but the U.S. Ryder Cup team found the current practice rounds at Bethpage Black far calmer than they expected. Morikawa admitted that it has been a quiet build-up to the Ryder Cup tee-off on Friday but hopes to see a change before then.
The atmosphere has been relatively calm during the first three days at the People’s Country Club. Most fans have gathered around the 15th to 18th holes, which has left much of the course almost empty. This could be attributed to it being only practice rounds. Although there were concerns that the crowds might get out of hand, nothing of the sort has happened and the crowd has been “tame” so far.
“I’ll be honest, I think it’s kind of tame so far,” Morikawa said in his pre-tournament press conference. “Tuesday and Wednesday, I know tomorrow is going to be pretty bad (weather) but I hope Friday is just absolute chaos. I’m all for it. I think it feeds into who we are and the American players and the American team. We want it. Like, we want to use that to our advantage.”
Morikawa Wants Home Crowd To “Go Crazy”
The two-time major winner’s demand to turn up the noise came after Europe star Tommy Fleetwood said that the crowds at Bethpage Black have been underwhelming so far. Morikawa will be playing his third Ryder Cup and wants the team to use the home crowd to their advantage. Almost 50,000 fans, including U.S. President Donald Trump, will pack Bethpage on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.
“I think every sport uses their home crowd to their advantage,” he said. “…I think we really need to tap into that so I hope they come strong…come Friday, I hope they go crazy.”
The 28-year-old is looking to put things right in this year’s Ryder Cup after losing 11½ – 16½ to Luke Donald’s European side at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome two years ago. Morikawa admitted the defeat was especially tough to take, calling it the first team loss he had experienced since his junior and amateur days, and said leaving Rome with that result left a “sour taste.”
Main Photo Credit: © Peter Casey-Imagn Images
