Opinion: Should Team Europe have withdrawn from the Ryder Cup?

It has been five days since Europe won the Ryder Cup, however the Ryder Cup remains at the centre of the golf news. The reason is because of the mistreatment world number two Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica received at Bethpage Black. In one particular circumstance, Erica, who happens to be from New York, got hit with a beer can.

Now according to Andrew Gamble and Gavin Quinn of Irish Star, there are reports that Team Europe almost withdrew from the Ryder Cup altogether. The McIlroys have since received an apology from the PGA of America.

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The question now is should the European players have walked off the course? I say no. Instead, they pushed on and did their talking on the greens. McIlroy was at the centre of this European accomplishment. He got off to a fast start with Tommy Fleetwood in Friday foursome action as they clobbered Collin Morikawa and Harris English 5&4. McIlroy and Fleetwood then beat Morikawa and English again 3&2 in Saturday foursome action. Then in Saturday four-ball play, McIlroy and Shane Lowry beat Justin Thomas and Cameron Young 2-up.

The bottom line is that the European players deserve high praise for not letting the New York noise cause such a distraction that it impacted their play on the course. They did not play all that well on Sunday. However, Europe had an insurmountable lead after Day Two, they hung on to not only retain the Cup thanks to a clutch Lowry putt, but win the Cup outright. That is what the golf fans need to remember most.

The PGA of America needs to learn from the experience. One possibility is to have the European WAGS in a designated area on all 18 holes with tightened security.

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