Colin Montgomerie has hit out at American golf fans for their lack of manners, following the treatment Rory McIlroy received at the US Open.
McIlroy, 35, suffered three bogeys in his last four holes at Pinehurst on Sunday, allowing Bryson DeChambeau to snatch victory and claim his second US Open title. As a result, McIlroy’s wait for another major win continues, but it was made even more challenging by a hostile crowd in North Carolina.
Montgomerie – who himself was a runner-up at the US Open three times – doesn’t believe that kind of behaviour has any place in the sport. The golf legend spoke on talkSPORT (via the Daily Express) about the crowd’s reaction when McIlroy missed a crucial final putt, which led to chants of “USA” from the spectators.
Host Jeff Stelling labelled these individuals as “muppets” and “clowns fuelled by alcohol.” Those comments prompted Montgomerie to share his thoughts on golf fans in America, which he suggested differ greatly from others across the world.
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“The American fans that attend a golf tournament are not generally golfers,” said the 31-time European Tour event-winner. “You get The Open, or a Scottish or an Irish event, and it’s usually golfers who attend those events. They appreciate and understand the etiquette of the game.
“In America, it’s not. It’s a lot of baseball fans and football fans who have been drinking all day and love to shout the word ‘USA’. It’s not really golf. It’s not the etiquette of the game. It’s very anti-rest of the world. America feel like they are the best and the loudest. They certainly are the loudest.”
There’s no denying those noise levels when it became clear DeChambeau was set to clinch the trophy at Pinehurst. Meanwhile, McIlroy swiftly left the course without speaking to the press and has since revealed he’ll be taking a break from golf.
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Montgomerie was a three-time US Open runner-up without winning the major
Certain tournaments on the American schedule are notorious for their rowdy atmospheres. Perhaps the most well-known is the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where it’s typical for spectators to hurl beer (and just about anything else) onto the green when a player hits a hole-in-one (or a particularly significant shot).
Those antics hit a high note earlier this year when tournament organisers had to stop selling alcohol amid chaotic scenes in Arizona. The third round of the competition had to be paused due to an outbreaks of fights and arrests.
Montgomerie continued to tell those loudmouth fans to “leave it for the Ryder Cup,” where the idea of patriotism is more associated with the event. He also suggested DeChambeau played up to the biased crowd to help his game as he beat McIlroy at the last hurdle.
“Bryson was jeering up the crowd, of course, because that was how he was going to win, with the support of the crowd behind him,” he explained. “But we don’t get that in Britain. We celebrate good golf, whoever it might be.”
