Farmingdale, New York
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There is no such thing as a polite golf clap at the Ryder Cup — the noise from the galleries can be deafening.
Unlike the typical calls for “quiet please” at any other tournament, players often tee off against a crescendo of noise and the fans show their appreciation with songs of praise; the atmosphere of this biennial event feels much more like a Premier League derby match than anything else.
“It really is an environment that you want to experience as a player,” said the European captain Luke Donald to CNN Sports. “I think these guys embrace that. They thrive in it. They’re looking forward to hearing the noise out there.”
The American fans prefer to chant, their favorite being a repetitive, thunderous staccato of “U-S-A!” The Europeans, on the other hand, favor bespoke soccer-style songs with which they serenade individual players or their team as a whole. “Europe’s on fire, USA is terrified,” was one of the more popular songs at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome, adapted to the melody of ‘Freed from Desire’ by the Italian Europop artist Gala. An homage to the Irish star Rory McIlroy, “He’s in your head, Rory” is sung to the tune of The Cranberries’ “Zombie,” “Oh Matthew Fitzpatrick” is sung to the ominous melody of The White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” while Viktor Hovland’s name is sung to Depeche Mode’s upbeat “Just Can’t Get Enough.”
Paul McGinley is a veteran of the European team — he sunk the winning putt in 2002 and he was a victorious captain in 2014. “It’s a raucous atmosphere, decibels through the roof, it’s not something they’re used to,” he told CNN Sports. “They’re all soccer fans, so to be treated by the fans like soccer players is a big deal to them.”
McIlroy, who is famously a Manchester United fan, concurs.
“As a boy, I dreamt of playing at Old Trafford and having those songs sung about me,” he told CNN Sports. “I just didn’t know they would be sang to me on a golf course. They are very creative. They are amazing.”
Speaking to CNN Sports on the eve of the tournament at Bethpage in New York, the American star Justin Thomas couldn’t hide his admiration for the fans’ creativity.
“I don’t know how the Europeans do it,” he said, “I don’t know if there’s like a group text of 10,000 people that they just come up with these things, but they’re pretty awesome and impressive.”
The American players don’t seem to mind who’s singing the songs, as it all adds to the unique experience of a Ryder Cup. Xander Schauffle told CNN that the fans contribute a key ingredient to the flavor of the event. “You need the fans,” he explained. “You need them to do their thing. Whether it’s everyone singing their songs, like pub drinking songs in Europe, or the sort of heavy USA chants we get here, I love all of it, to be completely honest.”
His captain, Keegan Bradley concurred, telling CNN, “I always really enjoyed the European chants. They’re very creative and fun. Ours are a little bit more USA-oriented.”
The songs can be irreverent and playful. European fans will often mock the Americans with, “You’ve only got one song,’ and sometimes they’ll sing just for the sake of singing. “We’re the left side of the tee” might be sung by the fans seated accordingly, before the song is picked up by the fans in the middle and then continued on the right-hand side, it’s simple and ridiculous, but a thoroughly entertaining way of passing the time before the next group comes through.
Fan songs have been the soundtrack at football matches across Europe for decades, where they can be spontaneous, adapted, or passed down from one generation to the next, and the wittier the lyrics, the better.
A common song that would celebrate the uniqueness of a player would feature the line, “there’s only one,” but the 2010 European team featured the Italian brothers Francesco and Eduardo Molinari, hence, “There’s only two Molinaris.” Another European song celebrates the English player Tyrell Hatton by adapting a children’s ditty, “If you’re Hatton and you know it, clap your hands.”
“I feel like our team is very good at coming up with new ones, depending on who the players are,” said Donald.
And for some players, even on the American team, the songs can become earworms long after the end of the competition. Thomas made his Ryder Cup debut in 2018, the year that Europe were powered to victory by the flawless “Moliwood” partnership of Francesco Molinari and Tommy Fleetwood. Their song was simple, but catchy, “Moli, (or Tommy) Moli-Moli, Moli-Moli, Moli-Molinari (or Fleetwood).”
“Our daughter’s name is Molly,” explained Thomas, “And the amount of times I had that chant stuck in my head, and both Jill and I have caught ourselves singing ‘Molly,’ right along to the song.”
An away match for Europe means there will be less of the witty European melodies, but there will be no less noise. Bethpage golf fans are known to be bombastic, even if Friday’s start by the Europeans quieted the American fans, and the Ryder Cup is only dialing up the intensity.
After a demoralizing defeat in Rome two years ago and a difficult Friday start to the tournament, the American players are counting on the fans to give them a lift.
“I’m all for it. I think it feeds into who we are and the American players and the American team. We want it,” said Collin Morikawa. “We want to use that to our advantage. I hope they come strong.”
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