Ryder Cup 2020 - Shane Lowry hits out at 'idiots' in Ryder Cup crowd, says wife got 'dog's abuse' at Whistling Straits
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Published 29/09/2021 at 17:27 GMT
The 43rd Ryder Cup was won by a record margin by Team USA as they eased to a 19-9 victory over Padraig Harrington's European side. There was a boisterous atmosphere at the Whistling Straits course in Wisconsin and Shane Lowry has suggested that some of the crowd took things too far at times during the three-day event.
'The best week of my golfing career' - Lowry positive despite defeat
Shane Lowry has criticised “idiots” in the Ryder Cup crowd at Whistling Straits and says his wife received “dog’s abuse” as she walked around the course.
Lowry was making his Ryder Cup debut in Wisconsin and couldn't prevent Team USA soaring to a record win.
The 2019 Open champion said that the majority of supporters over the three days were well behaved, but a “small percentage” soured the atmosphere.
“I didn't think it was that bad until I asked my wife what it was like for her, and they got dog’s abuse coming around as well," he said.
"So it's not very nice is it, and it's not very nice for them to have to listen to this. But that was a small percentage of the crowd.
"The majority of the crowd - I finished my match on 16 on Sunday and I was walking back down to follow the other groups and I got a huge ovation off the crowd and in the grandstand on 16, that was pretty cool. And I thought I got on well with the crowd last week as best I could.
"But they are obviously a home crowd and they are going to be a partisan crowd. Some of the stuff is not very nice, but that's just the way it is. Some people are idiots, especially when they drink. Nobody turns into a genius drinking, and that's what they were doing last week. Especially if you were out in the afternoon matches, it was loud.
"It was hard for us, and as a team it was hard for us to perform our best because you stand up and you hit a three-iron to 10 feet from 250 yards and you don't even get a ripple of applause. You almost get booed for it. It's hard, but I tried to take it as best I could. I think I did, I think I performed okay.
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"I don't think it's going to be like that in Rome. We will obviously have the home support, but we'll be hopefully winning a bit of a different way."
Lowry took one point from his three matches, holing a 12-foot putt on the final green to win his Saturday fourballs with Tyrrell Hatton against Tony Finau and Harris English.
He says it was "one of the best experiences of my life" despite the 19-9 thrashing, and is determined to be on the team for the next Ryder Cup in Rome in 2023.
"I thought about it quite a bit on the way home on Monday, and I'm just so disappointed for Paddy to be honest," added Lowry, who was awarded one of Harrington's three wildcard picks for the contest.
"I'm really disappointed for him, I don't think he deserves the beating we got last week. It looks bad on paper obviously. It's hard because he's a very good friend, and that's what I'm most disappointed about last week is we didn't perform as a team for him.
"But as regards the week itself, I couldn't have envisaged what it would be like for me. It was amazing. It was one of the best experiences of my life, and it's the only thing I want to do for the next two years.
"I don't care what I do for the next two years now as long as I'm back in Rome to try to take the trophy back off them."
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