Luke Donald slams PGA of America over the handling of fan abuse at Bethpage Black

Luke Donald and his men faced a raucous US crowd while playing in the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. After months since Team Europe's hard-earned victory on US soil, Donald recently shared his take on how PGA of America handled the situation.

Donald sat down for an interview with The Times this week where he talked about a variety of topics. The golfer admitted in the interview that he probably enjoyed the Ryder Cup at Rome more because of what he faced at New York.

Luke Donald further channeled his inner thoughts and labeled the PGA of America's approach to addressing fan abuses at Bethpage as 'disappointing' (via The Times):

"That was disappointing because anyone who was in Rome and New York knew it was completely different. Singing ‘Hats off to your bank account’ is slightly different to ‘F*** your five-year-old’ or whatever it was, and this wasn’t just one or two guys, it was hundreds, maybe thousands."

Luke Donald further urged the PGA of America to own up to their mistake of downplaying the gravity of the fan-abuse situation. The Former World No. 1 stated:

"As a leader, you have a responsibility. Nobody’s perfect. We all make mistakes and f*** up. Just own up to it. Just say, ‘We should’ve done more. This isn’t acceptable and we will do better next time.’ I would’ve loved to have heard that message rather than, ‘Well, it happens and it happened over there.’"

Luke Donald's jibe came months after PGA of America President Don Rea initially compared the fan abuse at Bethpage with that of a "youth soccer game". However, Rea later condemned the fan behavior and apologized for his past comments via an email to PGA of America's membership.

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When Luke Donald explained how fan behavior at Bethpage made it difficult for Team Europe

In September, Donald shared his opinion on the behavior of the US fans at Bethpage Black. The Englishman who led the European Ryder Cup team this year, found the situation tough and expressed his take on fan behavior.

"It was loud, it was raucous. What I consider crossing the line is personal insults and making sounds when they are trying to hit on their backswings or very close to when they are trying to go into their routines. That did happen a little bit," he said (via The Guardian).

During the 2025 Ryder Cup, Rory McIlroy faced repeated heckling from the boisterous US fans. Fans also taunted Shane Lowry's physique and McIlroy's wife Erica Stoll, was hit with a beer can.

However, Luke Donald stated that the Europeans braved the difficult situations at Bethpage. He further revealed that his team's ability to come back stronger made him proud as a captain.

Edited by Riddhiman Sarkar