article-image

Ryder Cup: Morikawa calls on USA crowd to bring 'chaos' to Bethpage

0
0
Clock Icon2 daysGolf

Collin Morikawa wants the United States home crowd to bring the "chaos" when Ryder Cup action kicks off at Bethpage Black on Friday.

The much-anticipated visit of Team Europe starts with the morning of foursomes action before an afternoon four-balls session for the first chances at 28 points on offer across the weekend.

Morikawa will play for a third time in the competition, having featured in Team USA's win at Whistling Straits in 2021 before their hammering in Rome two years ago.

The 28-year-old, who has four wins in eight Ryder Cup matches, says preparations have been in front of a tame crowd in New York, though he expects that to change.

"I'll be honest, I think it's kind of tame so far, Tuesday and Wednesday. I know tomorrow is going to be pretty bad [with the weather], but I hope Friday is just absolute chaos," he said on Wednesday.

"I'm all for it. I think it feeds into who we are and the American players and the American team. We want it. Like we want to use that to our advantage.

"I think every sport uses its home crowd to its advantage. Just because we don't play in a setting like this doesn't mean the craziness of New York and the rest of the country that people are travelling in from, it doesn't mean that we can't use that to our advantage.

"I think we really have to tap into that. I hope they come strong. Watching all these kids, I know they want autographs, but come Friday, I hope they go crazy."

The last Ryder Cup played on US soil saw a 19-9 win for the USA, the largest margin of victory in the modern era of the event (since 1979).

Morikawa picked up 3½ points from a possible four in that coasting victory, but lost three of his four matches in 2023.

Indeed, the most recent meeting between this pair at Marco Simone saw a 16½-11½ win for Europe – their seventh consecutive victory on home soil.

Morikawa is also so far winless in singles (one tie, one defeat), and he will hope to finally get his first victory in that format come Sunday, when his side hopes to banish any bad memories from Rome.

"There was a sour taste leaving Rome. I think that was my first team loss that I've ever had since even amateur golf and junior golf," Morikawa added.

"It felt really weird. Like it wasn't an okay feeling. Yeah, we're all out there drinking, having fun on Sunday night, but it just didn't feel right.  

"We had a job and a goal to accomplish that week, and we just didn't pull through. We weren't hitting the shots. We weren't making the putts, and when you're on an away stage like that, you have to step up a little bit more.

"For the past couple years, I wouldn't say it's haunted me, but it definitely woke me up – when I was on the verge of making this team – to make sure I could give everything I could. 

"I've had four weeks, essentially, since I've been on this team and a lot of time to think about what I need to do and what I need to bring to this week."