In the wake of unruly fan behavior at the Ryder Cup — described by some as unsavory and by others as outright inflammatory — the CEO of the PGA of America issued a heartfelt apology Wednesday to the European team’s players and families.
The apology comes after a particularly tense Saturday afternoon four-ball match, where fans directed hostile comments toward Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry. Even McIlroy’s wife, Erica, was caught in the crossfire. A video surfaced showing a fan knocking a beer cup out of another’s hand, which then struck Erica’s hat. McIlroy immediately confronted the individual.
PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague acknowledged the incident during an appearance on Golf Channel, stating that the organization had coordinated with New York State Police and other agencies to manage crowd control. While security was tightened on Sunday, Sprague admitted the damage had already been done.
“There’s no place for that at the Ryder Cup, no place for it in the game of golf, and we are not happy with what happened last week,” Sprague said. “I haven’t spoken to Rory or Erica, but I do plan on sending them an email with my heartfelt apologies.”
Don Rea said behavior was to be expected
While Sprague worked to repair the organization’s image, PGA of America President Don Rea took a different approach. In a BBC interview Sunday, Rea downplayed the severity of the crowd’s behavior.
“Well, you have 50,000 people there that are really excited, and heck, you can go to a youth soccer game and get some people who say the wrong things,” Rea said. When asked about the abuse directed at McIlroy, he responded, “I haven’t heard some of that. I’m sure it’s happened … Rory understands things like that are going to happen.”
Adding fuel to the fire, the emcee on the first tee Saturday — comedian and actress Heather McMahan — was caught on video encouraging the crowd with a vulgar chant aimed at McIlroy. She later stepped down from her role and issued an apology.
Rea later addressed the backlash on LinkedIn, writing:
“Couple thoughts. This is my profile, not the PGA’s. That being said, thank you to all that have reached out to me as a friend and golf industry leader. I’m personally taking some criticism right now and that comes with the role… I am not bothered. I know who I ultimately serve… New level. New devil. 💪🏻🙏🏻🇺🇸”
Who is PGA of America President Don Rea?
Rea, the 44th president of the PGA of America, is currently serving a two-year term. He succeeded John Lindert, director of golf at the Country Club of Lansing in Michigan, and represents more than 31,000 PGA professionals. A member of the Southwest PGA Section, Rea owns Augusta Ranch Golf Club in Mesa, Arizona, and serves on the Arizona Lodging & Tourism Association Board of Directors. He also has a background in professional baseball, having worked as a Triple-A umpire and officiated spring training games in Arizona.
(Editor’s note: Golfweek’s Cameron Jourdan and Todd Kelly contributed to this report.)
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