Azinger defendscall to cheer Europe misses

PAUL AZINGER has defended his call to American Ryder Cup fans to cheer missed putts by the European team at Valhalla this weekend.

The American captain made the remarks Thursday night at a ‘pep’ rally for United States fans in the centre of Louisville on the eve of the Ryder Cup matches against Europe.

Following yesterday’s opening session of foursomes matches, Azinger was asked to clarify his comments during a media conference.

“I think I said, ‘You can cheer when they miss’,” Azinger said.

“Essentially, when we go over there (to Europe), they cheer when we miss. I don’t think the American fans are really into what the Ryder Cup is all about in the fact that there is that other element.

“It wasn’t meant to be malicious and I’m really proud that the fans have been absolutely perfectly behaved this morning.”

Azinger said he had been teaching United States fans about the Ryder Cup, a competition the Americans haven’t won since 1999.

“That really is all that was,” he said. “It was kind of an education almost, and enlightening them to kind of that’s what goes on over there.

“If we lose a hole or we miss a putt, they cheer. I don’t think the American fans get that part.

“Everybody ‘oohs’ and ‘aahs’, but the European fans, they get it. The American fans, they don’t, and they are not used to that.

“I was just making sure that if they understood that if we win a hole, they can cheer, and even if somebody misses a putt for us to win a hole. So that’s really all that was.”