DUBAI — Augusta National chairman Fred Ridley and R&A chief executive Mark Darbon have echoed Rory McIlroy’s sentiments from the recent controversial Ryder Cup at Bethpage that golf should be held to a higher standard of fan behavior than other sports.
The European team withstood considerable abuse from the crowds on Long Island last month, particularly Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, to earn a 15-13 away victory.
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Video footage on social media captured a series of regrettable moments such McIlroy’s wife having a drink thrown at her. McIlroy spoke out afterward, declaring “I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf. I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.” The fan behavior drew the ire of numerous figures in golf from Tom Watson to Gary Player.
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On Thursday at the Asia-Pacific Amateur Championship in Dubai, Ridley was asked what the organizers of the Masters, a tournament celebrated for its elevated decorum and tradition, thought about the scenes at Bethpage.
“The fact that you asked the question and that we are all talking about it is really important. The Ryder Cup has gained just public interest in the last few years,” Ridley said. “It’s become incredibly competitive. I mean, 30 years ago, it wasn’t all that competitive. I think that certainly is good for the game and the interest that it’s created among fans around the world.
“I don’t think that anyone was particularly happy with what happened this year,” Ridley continued. “I think it just reminds us, as custodians of the game, the responsibility that we have to perpetuate its underlying values. And I think hopefully that this is something we’re going to focus on more, and because that’s part of what makes golf special is that it is a different sort of set of rules, if you will. It’s something I think we need to work on, and it’s something I think I hope everyone involved with the game will reflect on.”
Fred Ridley, Masters chairman, and Mark Darbon, R&A CEO, spoke about the need for golf to “perpetuate its underlying values” when policing fans at tournaments.
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David Paul Morris
Darbon came to the R&A after holding various roles in other sports such as the Olympic, rugby, endurance racing and cycling. He said golf should not lose the values “that other sports would crave.”
“I think first and foremost, you want and need passion,” Darbon said. “There are very few sports that succeed anywhere around the world without a strong following and passionate supporters. But one of the things that defines golf, and I’ve worked in a number of sports and I’m new to this industry, one of the things that struck me in my first 10 or 11 months, is there’s real strength in the values of the game. They are so critical. They are a highly differentiating factor for us versus other sports, and they provide us with something many other sports would crave. Without them, it will become much harder to grow this game. Collaborations between organizations like Augusta National Golf Club and the R&A and brilliant federations all around the world are so critical to underpin and elevate those values.”
