Collin Morikawa has issued a rallying cry ahead of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, urging American fans to crank up the noise and create “absolute chaos” when play begins on Friday.
The two-time major winner wasn’t impressed with the atmosphere during the practice rounds, describing it as “tame” despite expectations of a fiery New York crowd. While interactions between players and fans have been friendly so far, Morikawa believes Team USA needs a louder, more hostile environment to seize their home advantage.
“I’ll be honest, I think it’s kind of tame so far, Tuesday and Wednesday,” Morikawa admitted. “I know tomorrow is going to be pretty bad [with the weather], but I hope Friday is just absolute chaos. We want it. We want to use that to our advantage. Every sport uses its home crowd—and we can do the same here.”
Morikawa, who spent much of the week signing autographs for fans, stressed that once the matches begin, the galleries need to bring the energy. “I think we really have to tap into that. I hope they come strong. Watching all these kids, I know they want autographs, but come Friday, I hope they go crazy.”
His comments followed similar observations from Team Europe’s Tommy Fleetwood, who was surprised by how welcoming the Bethpage fans had been. “Everybody was amazing yesterday,” Fleetwood said. “They were very supportive of us, which was great. As players, we love soaking up that atmosphere.”
But Europe captain Luke Donald isn’t taking any chances. Determined to prepare his team for a partisan crowd, he has even equipped his players with virtual reality headsets designed to simulate heckling from fans.
Not everyone is convinced it will help. American Cameron Young, a New York native, dismissed the idea: “I don’t know about the whole virtual reality thing. I think there’s probably no substitute for being out there.”
With anticipation building and both teams fine-tuning their preparations, Morikawa’s call for chaos sets the stage for a fiery start to one of sport’s most electric competitions.
