Irish Examiner view: US shamed by malicious Ryder Cup spectators
FORE GOOD: Shane Lowry, of Team Europe, makes his putt to halve the hole and retain the Ryder Cup on the 18th green during the Sunday singles matches of the 2025 Ryder Cup at Black Course at Bethpage State Park Golf Course in Farmingdale, New York. Picture: Richard Heathcote/Getty
In the end it was as magical, tense, and riveting as anyone could have wished. That a supposedly already settled Ryder Cup in New York — turned into one of the most nail-biting sporting occasions seen this or any other year — was eventually settled in Europe’s favour by a very emotional man from Clara, Co Offaly, was a bonus only the Irish could have conjured up.
But with American fans having been goaded into a frenzy of ugliness, partly because of their own team’s almost complete inability to score wins on the first two days of the event, the competition sparked as much comment about sportsmanship as it did about the match itself.
Destined to land in Ireland at Adare Manor in two years, the Ryder Cup in Bethpage, New York, played out to a thrilling conclusion at the weekend, but the occasion was blessed purely because, at the death, the sport itself had the final word.
Until the final day, the whole show had been characterised not by the golf but by galleries that snapped from partisanship to a level of vocal nastiness that crossed too many lines. The fans had not threatened violence, but they nearly provoked it.
For the first day and a half of this most intense of rivalries, it was New York-loud but not venomous. On Saturday afternoon, the tone shifted as Rory McIlroy became a lightning rod for the crowd playing alongside Shane Lowry, who was as much minder as team-mate.
Forced to keep stepping back from the ball during his pre-shot routine as volleys of visceral abuse was heaped upon him, eventually even their American opponents had to try and shush their countrymen simply so the Europeans could putt.
What had crept into the galleries on the fairways, around the greens, and in the bleachers, was malicious, offensive, and foul. It did not at all mirror golf’s treasured behavioural norms. Insults aimed at players’ wives, homophobic and nationalistic slurs — and worse — were levelled at McIlroy and Lowry.
They responded, largely, with class and stunning play. Extra security had to be drafted in, along with a phalanx of New York state troopers, but the organisers had let the line slide until it almost snapped.
In the end, the two helped fashion a famous victory, but with the competition coming to Adare in two years, the organisers will have to try and ensure that such nauseating spectator behaviour does not become a norm and cause Ireland the sort of reputational damage the New York crowd inflicted on their country.
It will be a priority for us to show we can fill the venue without emptying our locker of charm, grace, and humour.
While the presidential race has yet to ignite the interest of the general public there are concerns that in the parallel world of social media darker forces are at play shaping the narrative.
To some extent it already has and not because of anything said or done by any of the candidates, but by external forces intent on widening the boundaries of the disruptive forces created by social media.
This campaign has already seen one candidate forced to repudiate false and unsubstantiated online claims aimed at derailing his election bid. And this was not just a single post on a random account; it was an orchestrated effort across multiple platforms and channelled into the feeds of hundreds of thousands of voters.
The source of the claims was a former fisherman from Co Waterford who lives abroad, claims to be a “Trump loyalist” and has associations with Ireland’s fascist wannabes the Irish Freedom Party. Unfortunately, Ireland’s Electoral Commission, tasked with safeguarding our electoral processes, is unable to compel social media platforms to operate with greater accountability.
If all other media — newspapers, magazines, radio, and television — are enforced by laws guarding against exactly that type of behaviour, why is it that social media platforms are not?
These platforms do have policies on harassment, abuse and privacy, yet there is nobody there to ensure they enforce them. The integrity of the election is at stake here, as was the case when supporters of Maria Steen, who failed to secure enough support to make it onto the ballot paper, decried the fact she was “barred” or “banned” from running, which was most certainly not the reality.
Social media platforms are becoming increasingly impossible to police. Laws are needed to force them to behave appropriately.
There was relief across Europe — matched by despair and disappointment in the Kremlin — when the people of Moldova voted to retain its pro-EU government and shunned Russia’s attempts to entice it back into its sphere of influence.
Months of unprecedented Russian interference across social media and any other method it could utilise, had seen huge pressure mount on the tiny, impoverished country’s pro-Western government — led by president Maia Sandu — to hold onto its parliamentary majority.
On Sunday, the people spoke and delivered a strong mandate for Sandu’s administration to continue its efforts to join the EU and distance itself from Russian influence. It was a victory for democracy in a part of the world not noted for it.
Throughout the campaign, Moscow sought to undermine the people’s faith in the state, its institutions, and the ability of the populace to decide its own future. The Moldovan people stood firm behind democracy.
Moldova is now on the path to EU membership and that’s why the Russians tried so hard to use their hybrid tactics to prevent this outcome. A rare victory for people power.
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