Tensions Flare in Ryder Cup as the U.S. Team Takes a Commanding Lead
The New York Times
The Americans were cruising on Saturday morning and all seemed calm. Then the Europeans made a strong run in the afternoon and things got testy.
HAVEN, Wis. — Golf is a game of decorum.
Except in the Ryder Cup, where some combination of pressure, patriotism and pride routinely leads players to engage in frisky gamesmanship, clash over rulings and stoke or shush fans if it gives them an emotional advantage.
This year’s Ryder Cup, however, was shaping up to be an exception to the usual peevishness. As the midpoint of the three-day event neared on Saturday, the American team was calmly overpowering the European side, whose golfers appeared lifeless and beaten. But that changed in the stretch of roughly one hour when there were four testy episodes involving players from both teams.
