“Grace” is not a word that will be associated with the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in the years to come. A minority of fans on Saturday marred this event forever and embarrassed their fellow New York golf fans in the process. (For the record, we technically don’t know if the worst of the hecklers were New Yorkers. Fans came to Bethpage from all over the country this week, and those Midwesterners are notoriously boorish.)
But if you strained your eyes through the haze of alcohol- and disappointment-fueled chaos outside the ropes, you may have noticed a very different picture inside the ropes of the Black Course.
For at this boisterous Bethpage Ryder Cup, the players behaved with more sportsmanship and grace than we’ve seen at this event in years, especially the deflated American team.
Together, they counter the prevailing narrative that this biennial pro golf exhibition has become too tempestuous for its own good.
On-course dust-up ends in apologies and hugs — unlike in 2023
Let’s start with the most tense moment among the players from whole week on Long Island. Late in Saturday’s second session, as the frustrated fans hurled invectives at European players amid their drubbing of the Americans, a tense match between European killers Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood and American stars Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau nearly broke into a fight.
Nearly.
When Rose directed DeChambeau’s caddie Greg Bodine out of his putting line on the 15th green, rudely as Rose admitted later, Bryson didn’t take kindly to it. A large amount of jawing happened between the players, caddies and assistant captains as they walked off 15 green and continued as they waited to hit on 16 tee.
But then, it was over. After the match, players and caddies shook hands, Rose said on TV they he could have handled the situation more “politely” and then Sunday morning, Scheffler’s caddie Ted Scott released an Instagram apology video with his arm wrapped around one of his European sparring partners, assistant captain Edoardo Molinari.
“This guy right here, has always been just a very sweet-spirited man,” Scott said in the video. “We had a heated moment yesterday, but what many of you don’t realize is that we got over it. By the time we walked off the 16th tee, it was over, and neither one of us want to make this competition about us… ultimately I just wanna spread love and joy. It’s a great competition. It’s great fun, and, this is a great man right here. So I just wanna say I’m sorry to you, brother.”
That stands in sharp contrast to the most heated moment from the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. There, the infamous Saturday match between Americans Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark and European hosts Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick turned into a shouting match.
European media reported that the U.S. team was “fractured” and that Cantlay refused to wear a hat in protest for not getting paid. European fans jumped on it, harassing Cantlay and the Americans with jeers all Saturday.
Cantlay and his teammates responded by waving fake hats in the air in big moments. On the final hole, Joe LaCava, Cantlay’s caddie, took it too far, waving his hat at the Europeans gathered around the green while McIlroy still had to putt. A huge shouting contest ensued on the green.
The flare-up continued into the parking lot, with Lowry holding a furious McIlroy back from fighting someone on the U.S. team.
Judging by the post-tournament press conferences, the flare-up was never fully resolved. In fact, the European team maintained the conflict as a theme in 2025, with captain Luke Donald dropping zingers at the U.S. players in his Opening Ceremony speech at Bethpage.
Scottie Scheffler sets example of class in defeat
While Scheffler was involved in this week’s match that almost went over the line, he was not involved in the jawing at all.
And, after the match, Scheffler made a point to check in with Rose and Fleetwood about the incident.
During a TV interview with Luke Donald near the 28th green Saturday, Scheffler can be seen walking up to Rose and Fleetwood, who were watching the remaining matches. Scheffler hugs each of the pros and talks with them for a few moments. The three smile, pat each other on the shoulder, then Scheffler walks away.
U.S. players try to control rowdy Bethpage crowds
The third example of our counter-narrative comes from the ugliest episode from the Bethpage Ryder Cup. In their Saturday match against Justin Thomas and Cameron Young, McIlroy and Lowry faced vile, unacceptable insults from fans all match long.
McIlroy opened up about the experience in his winner’s press conference, saying of the fan behavior, “I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf.”
Lowry said the abuse directed at McIlroy’s wife, Erica McIlroy, was “astonishing.”
But few words were spent on Thomas and Young’s reaction during the worst of the chaos. Just a few holes into the match, the American duo started taking it upon themselves to quiet the crowds when McIlroy and Lowry were hitting.
On nearly every tee and green, Thomas and Young could be seen holding their arms up to shush the crowd, trying to stop them from harassing their opponents.
Then came these gracious words from Thomas the next day after the match, which the Americans lost.
“Cam and I said to Shane [Lowry] and Rory [McIlroy] yesterday that we felt for them. Cam and I just wished that we gave them something to cheer for instead of people to cheer against. I think that was kind of the main consensus of the last two days, that we weren’t giving them enough to cheer for, and they were just trying to help us win.”
Rory McIlroy comforts Bradley’s children at Bethpage
The acts of grace weren’t limited to the losing Americans. McIlroy displayed a moment of laudable sportsmanship and humanity Sunday night.
As the European team celebrated with the Ryder Cup trophy and giant bottles of champagne under the lights on Bethpage’s practice green, U.S. captain Bradley’s wife and young children gathered around to watch.
McIlroy noticed them and interrupted his celebration to go over to Bradley’s kids and talk with them. The moment was captured in on X by Fried Egg Golf.
Keegan Bradley lauds European captain Luke Donald
Given the incredible performance of the Europeans over the first two days of this Ryder Cup, it’s easy to forget that Bradley’s team nearly pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in sports history on Sunday, and the greatest in Ryder Cup history.
Trailing 11.5-4.5, they held Team Europe to just one victory, dominating the singles session 8.5-3.5, tying a Ryder Cup record.
But in the stinging pain of defeat, and in the face of questions about his decision-making, Bradley took time to give his opposing captain the ultimate compliment.
“I think he’s the best European Ryder Cup Captain of all time, Luke Donald,” Bradley said Sunday night.
But it wasn’t the first time he said it. Not long before, fresh off his team’s loss on the 18th green, Bradley also lavished praise on the European captain.
Ryder Cuppers’ hockey-like handshake line on Sunday
For a final moment of sportsmanship at Bethpage, the Ryder Cup teams took a note from hockey. In NHL playoff series and other major hockey competitions, the teams line up afterward and shake hands on the ice.
It’s a tradition not taken lightly, though, occasionally on ice the handshake lines do get chippy.
On Sunday at the Ryder Cup, once the final putt had dropped on 18, the two teams lined up and participated in a hockey-like handshake line. Despite the intense competition that had unfolded over the prior three days, and the Americans’ historic singles comeback, there was no chippiness present, just handshakes, smiles and hugs.
That’s something this tournament can build on.
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