DANNY WILLETT was prepared for another Brookline-style ‘bear pit’ at Hazeltine BEFORE his brother dropped him in it with his abusive anti-American tirade.
But with the home team bidding to avoid an unprecedented fourth successive defeat, Masters champion Willett said he and the other five rookies in Darren Clarke’s line-up are ready for anything.
Brookline featured the worst scenes of crowd abuse at any Ryder Cup, with spectators shouting vile insults at players, screaming at them on their backswings, and even spitting at some players’ wives.
And Europe’s captain at Brookline, Mark James, said Peter Willett’s claim that American golf fans were “fat, stupid, greedy classless b*****ds” – among other insults – was simply “inviting” a crowd reaction.
James commented: “It was insane to say that just days before his brother and 11 team-mates compete against the American team.
“Having someone say such stupid things was the last thing anybody needed – was just the sort of curveball a captain dreads.”
European captain Clarke played at Brookline, along with current team members Lee Westwood and Sergio Garcia.
That event is also remembered for the disgraceful scenes that saw the American players and their wives charge across the 17th green when Jason Leonard holed a critical putt.
As he completed his Ryder Cup preparations at the Italian Open, Willett commented: “I think that Hazeltine is going to be particularly difficult.
“It will be like a Brookline in that the crowd will be pretty noisy.
“They are obviously going to be very much pro-America, which I think is going to be a tough thing for us. But I think from speaking to Lee and Darren, you have got to embrace that, realise it is going to happen, and go there and be prepared for it.
“You cannot go there and be like a rabbit in the headlights. You get there and you have prepared for the scenarios of being heckled, being shouted at, being taunted.
“Hopefully you can go there and put all that aside, get into your own zone and just play some good golf.”
Willett said he could feel the anti-European mood setting in at the final Major of the year, the USPGA Championship at Baltusrol near New York.
He added: “I think we got a little bit of it this year at Baltusrol. Not heckled so much, but they were very, very loud, very much pro the American lads.
“Yeah, from what the guys have said, at the Ryder Cup they are very respectful when you are hitting your shots. But between shots, I imagine there are a lot of things that are going to be shouted out from the crowd.
“But even as rookies we have all played a lot of golf over here. You know what the American crowds are like. We have played down south, we have played up north in America, and you know the difference in attitudes.
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“Fortunately, I am pretty good at ignoring all that stuff. But mentally it is something you have to prepare for.”
And Willett seemed to sense his publicity-loving brother may be a source of aggravation, saying: “I get heckled more when my brother just walks round with me than we do in Europe."
Fellow English rookies Chris Wood and Matt Fitzgerald revealed they have also been preparing themselves for plenty of stick from the galleries.
Wood, one of the tallest players in the game at 6ft 7in, says he is no stranger to jibes about his height.
He explained: “I usually get a lot of abuse. I’m a big target because I’m so tall, aren’t I? They usually just take the piss. What’s the weather like up there? Do you play basketball?
“I sort of think: ‘Is that all you’ve got?’. Not exactly Bristol City v Bristol Rovers is it?
“But having Ian Poulter as a vice-captain will be brilliant. I’m sure Poulter has had his fair share of having a hard time over here with crowds.
"So he’ll be someone I’ll look to sit down with.”
Fitzpatrick, at 22 the youngest player on either team, is also braced for plenty of stick.
He said: “I know from what I’ve heard what to expect but I don’t feel like I’ve done anything wrong to attract their attention.
“I feel like the worst thing they can come at with me is that: ‘You look like a 12-year-old’. But I’ve heard that before, so that won’t really affect me. I won’t be growing a beard - I’ll be looking as young as possible.”
James, speaking on US TV network ESPN, was clearly staggered by Peter Willett’s remarks.
*He added: “Danny Willett’s brother should be ashamed of himself after the absolutely horrible comments he made about fans of America’s Ryder Cup team.
"I hope there won’t be a repeat of those infamous 1999 scenes. In the editions since they have improved security and thrown out the odd person who has caused a problem.
“But if you rile people so much that large groups are having a go at the players, you can’t eject them all.
“Reading what he had published appalled me, and to do what he has was simply madness.
“The last thing we want is for things to turn unpleasant at Hazeltine.
They haven’t at the Ryder Cup since I was captain, at Brookline, but these sort of comments don’t help.
“I can’t help but feel sorry for Darren Clarke, and I hope that Danny is not singled out by the crowd as a result of the comments -- they were certainly inviting that.
“At the very least, the comments were an embarrassment for Danny. But they could have consequences for the team as a whole. If you get on the wrong side of the fans in the Ryder Cup it definitely has an impact.”*
“At Brookline I made it very clear to the European players at the start of the week that the crowds there could be volatile. I told them to sign every autograph and be really nice to the fans.
*“It didn’t do us any good but I think Darren -- who’s said how good the US fans have been to the European team up until the comments - will have been thinking along similar lines.”
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