MEDINAH, Ill. — Wyndham Clark wanted noise, and he knew how that sounded.
“These guys are going to laugh,” Clark said, motioning to Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns sitting next to him.
Clark, after all, had heard unpleasantries this year, even while winning the U.S. Open, which, by every account, should be a pleasant moment. There’d even been whispers that he was a villain, which here, in the Chicago area, is a term reserved for those who ask for a thin slice. But Thursday night, after Clark and partner Collin Morikawa won their Day 1 four-balls match at the Presidents Cup, Clark gave us the definition of irony.
“It was kind of dead out there,” he said. “I felt like the momentum could have been better, to be honest, because we weren’t really feeling the fans, I think, as much as normal.
“There was a few shots — I mean, Collin hit a 5-wood on, what was it, 11 to like 10 feet, and we didn’t even know if it was on the green because no one clapped. It was a little surprising. We’d make some big putts — I’m saying this more as a challenge that hopefully tomorrow and the weekend the fans are out there really rooting us on, and regardless of what happens, we have the momentum.”
A few minutes later, Brandt Snedeker, Clark’s American captain, agreed with him, saying “it was a weird day.” And maybe it was at Medinah Country Club, for a variety of reasons: perhaps it was just because it was a Thursday; perhaps it was due to some of the viewing areas; perhaps it was general malaise over the injury uncertainty of the local football club’s quarterback. Fandom can at times be fickle. But there’s also a bit of Goldilocks-ness to it.
You don’t want it too church-like.
But you don’t want whatever the hell you call what went down last September at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Long Island. In short, even Webster’s probably hadn’t heard some of the words expressed.
So what should be said, especially now, after a Friday stunner, where the Internationals dusted the Americans, 5-0, and lead 7-3 overall? Remember that things turned their nastiness at Bethpage on Saturday afternoon.
Thing is, maybe words shouldn’t be said, though.
They should be sung.
You know the hits. There’s this one, on Rory McIlroy, sung to the Cranberries’ “Zombie”:
He’s in your heeeeaaad He’s in your heeeeeeeaaaaaad Ro-ry, Ro-ry, Rory-y-y-y
And this one, on Team Europe, sung to “Freed from Desire,” from Gala:
Europe’s on fire U-S-A is terrified Europe’s on fire U-S-A is terrified Europe’s on fire U-S-A is terrified Europe’s on fire Whomp Nah, nah, nah, nah, nah
“>
There is a theme, of course. All centered on Europeans or the continent they come from. Most originate from the lyrical geniuses at the Guardians of the Cup, a European fan group; their website even includes songs going back a decade. The inspiration comes from European soccer; go to any match, and there’s hymn after hymn. Josh Crutchmer knows that. He’s written several books on music and his byline appears in Rolling Stone, and soccer is his passion.
“It’s absolutely the culture,” he texted me. “European sports generally predate our own, and the sports with collective fandom associated — golf, soccer, rugby — have been communal for centuries. Anything from a church hymn to a war cry to a sea shanty could naturally become a sports chant.
“Drop in modern pop culture on top of that history and major golf tournaments are great fodder for inventing chants like this.”
But why hasn’t that taken off in the U.S.?
Maybe it isn’t too late. Americans are creative, of course, but we also shouldn’t be afraid to sample.
“The easiest way for American sports fans to adopt these would be to simply take a cue from their foes,” Crutchmer says. “But if that’s a point of pride, then I think we would do well to look at our college sports culture. Chants like these are a major part of softball and soccer at the college level. And if we want to look at sports viewed as on par with top-level golf, we should look at how football fans celebrate touchdowns — fight songs in college and singalongs in the pros.
“We’re not as far away from this as we think. It’s just a matter of taking ourselves one step less seriously as fans.”
Unseriousness? I can do that.
Song writing, though? Some would say I struggle with website writing. Turns out Claude, the AI assistant, wasn’t all that great, either. My question was this: Hi, Claude. Could you please write five refrains from songs that include Presidents Cup American team names? The catchier the better! Wyndham Clark wants noise. Here’s a few of the responses:
Sung to the tune of “Sweet Caroline”:
Where it began I can’t begin to knowin’ But Scottie’s swing Man, it just keeps on flowin’! Burns and Cantlay Steady down the fairway So good, so good, so good
Sung to the tune of “Seven Nation Army”:
Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Scottie’s comin’, better know it Burns is swingin’, watch him show it Red and white, we ain’t gonna fold — Medinah’s ours, the story’s told!
To the tune of “Livin’ on a Prayer”:
Whoa, we’re halfway there Whoa-oh, Schauffele’s puttin’ in the air! Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear, Whoa-oh, livin’ at Medinah!
Hmm. OK then. Let’s sample instead.
On Friday, talented GOLF.com videographer Will Moriarty and I talked to a few willing folks at Medinah about Clark’s comments — and my humble proposal. Most agreed with Clark. Most believed more noise would come over the Cup’s remaining days. Most thought that songs were a European thing.
But friends Gage and Leebo gave the Tommy Fleetwood song a try — using Scottie Scheffler’s name as per my suggestion.
Not bad! But the Americans may need something more. Bigger. Bolder.
Friday was an International incident. A Medinah mauling. Five alternate shot matches. Five International wins. Afterward, Snedeker said the support was better on Friday, but heading into Saturday, the red, white and blue are down bad.
They need Keenan Fitzpatrick.
He’s one of Clark’s childhood friends. He had heard about his friend’s comments.
Fitzpatrick said he then flew in from Colorado. He dressed up in a jumpsuit that had more than a few onlookers thinking he was Evil Knievel. He brought a second one in case someone else wanted to join him. He said that “this sport goes back ages and we’re going to learn to get loud.”
I asked him if he wanted to sing.
He did. He said doing so would make him bounce around. Which he did. And we got this.
