After 'chaos' comments, Collin Morikawa deflects blame for Ryder Cup fan behavior
It has been 10 days since the Ryder Cup ended at Bethpage Black in New York, and plenty of conversation about the event is still circulating on social media and in the golfing world.
On Wednesday and on the other side of the globe in press conferences ahead of the 2025 Baycurrent Classic, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele, both members of the United States team, were asked about fan behavior, which got unruly and crossed a line, especially Saturday afternoon toward Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and their family members.
While a select majority of fans did get out of hand, turning the story into a worldwide spectacle, most of the fans on Long Island weren’t an issue, even if Team USA didn’t give them much to cheer for during the three days of competition.
Before the Ryder Cup began, Morikawa called for the U.S. fans to bring chaos: “I hope Friday is just absolute chaos. I’m all for it. I think it feeds into who we are and the American players and the American team. We want it. Like we want to use that to our advantage.”
Morikawa was asked about his comments specifically, and he defended himself.
“I think we’ve taken what I said a little out of context. I think Ryder Cups are meant to have a lot of energy, right, and I think me saying the word ‘chaos,’ I didn’t mean for them to be rude, right? So, like that’s not on me, I believe for me to take credit for people being rude. I think what I meant was like I wanted energy, right? You wanted people to be proud of the country, the countries they’re rooting for. So I don’t think, you know, me saying one word, everyone listened and then — I don’t think I have the power to do that amongst people.
Collin Morikawa called for Ryder Cup fans to cause chaos at Bethpage Black.
On Wednesday in Japan, he was asked about his comments in the aftermath of fan behavior that week.
“I think we’ve taken what I said a little out of context.” pic.twitter.com/LUR94B6Gp3
— Cameron Jourdan (@Cam_Jourdan) October 8, 2025
“I think fans can do and say what they want sometimes. It probably crossed a line out there. It wasn’t in my groups but definitely what people were hearing. So I would say yeah, there’s a line that needs to be drawn, I believe.”
Morikawa is right. His calls for the crowd to cause chaos came after pretty subdued practice rounds where the New York fans were anything but out of control. Even into the weekend, away from the hoopla of the first tee, fans truly didn’t live up to the hype of supporting the home team leading into the event.
But come Saturday, especially in the afternoon, the small percentage of fans who crossed the line and started going after European players painted the entire fanbase in a bad light. But Morikawa is correct in his comments were calling for more support from the American fans, not a free pass for those with ill intentions to act out because the beverages were flowing.
“I think that’s what’s so different and unique about golf is that we hear nearly everything what people say because people have access to be so close to us,” Morikawa continued. “You look at a lot of other sports, you don’t really hear much. Things are said, but golf has that different aspect to it. So I think you have to learn how to find that division of what’s appropriate and what’s not.”
Fan behavior resulted in PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague apologizing last week during an appearance on Golf Channel, saying the organization had coordinated with New York State Police and other agencies to manage crowd control.
Schauffele was also asked about the Bethpage Black fans during his press conference Wednesday, saying even he got some jeers from the home faithful.
“Yeah, there were some unsavory things said at certain times,” Schauffele said. “You know, I really wish we could have played better to have them cheer for us a bit more. New York’s a tough place to play for anyone. I even got a few comments to play better. I’m not taking much personally when it comes to sort of what fans say.”
The 45th Ryder Cup may be in the rearview mirror, but conversations around the fans aren’t going anywhere.
This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Collin Morikawa thinks Ryder Cup fans probably crossed a line
