Former USA Captain Issues Statement On American Fan Behaviour at Ryder Cup

The 2025 Ryder Cup is officially in the bag, with Team Europe besting Team USA 15-13. The former started strongly and rushed out to a strong lead early, before the Americans fought back and closed the gap. It wasn’t enough, though, and Europe won for the second straight time. It wasn’t just the result that had people talking after the Ryder Cup wrapped up, though.

The event was held in the United States and a lot has been made about the behaviour of the American crowd watching proceedings. The spectators subjected Team Europe to a barrage of abuse and visibly frustrated the golfers throughout. The shocking behaviour was surprisingly defended by Team USA member, Justin Thomas.

Now, one of the team’s former captains has released a statement online and he’s had quite the opposite reaction to Thomas.

Tom Watson Slammed USA Fans

While Thomas defended the actions of the United States crowd, former golfer Tom Watson has slammed the behaviour in a post on social media. The 76-year-old captained Team USA at the Ryder Cup in 1993, leading them to victory, but he was left appalled by the way the spectators conducted themselves this year.

Taking to X (Twitter) after Europe confirmed their victory, he congratulated the team on their win, before going on to criticise the American fans for how they behaved. He said:

Those are very strong words from Watson, who was clearly unhappy with what he saw from his fellow countrymen. It’s a stark contrast to Keegan Bradley, who captained the nation in this year’s Ryder Cup. The 39-year-old was asked about the situation after day two of the event, but refused to condemn the fans. Speaking to reporters, he said: “I thought the fans were passionate. I mean, their home team is getting beat bad. You know, they are passionate fans.”