Former US Ryder Cup Captain Takes Shot At Team Europe Wit…

It’s official: the Ryder Cup trash talk period has begun.

Not that up until now there hadn’t been the odd off-color comment from both sides, but no one had launched into a full-blown attack. Until now.

The “honor” went to Lanny Wadkins, 21-time PGA Tour winner, major champion, and American Ryder Cup legend. Wadkins, who captained the team that won at Oak Hill in 1995, gave the European team members a hard time because of how concerned they are about the crowd pressure expected at Bethpage Black.

“The crowds have always been rowdy. I always find it very interesting that we never say a word about what happens to us when we’re playing in Europe,” Wadkins said in a recent interview on the Golf Channel’s Golf Today show, which was posted to X by the user College Football Nerd.

Having participated in eight Ryder Cups as a player, Wadkins has more than one story to tell about the pressure of playing abroad.

“I know, I’ve been on the first tee as far back as 1985, I got introduced and had the entire grandstands boo me,” he recalled during the same interview. “You showed a picture of a shot I’m chipping in at 18 playing with Payne Stewart as my partner in an alternate shot match, and there must be five, six people deep behind the green. Everybody’s got their arms folded. Nobody applauding my eagle chip going in. They wanted it to miss.”

“So, I mean, we’ve got the same treatment over there. We just never complained about it. Sometimes I think the Europeans are just a bunch of wusses and can’t handle the heat.”

One unmissable detail was that Wadkins showed no apparent remorse, even though one of his interviewers was Eamon Lynch, a renowned golf commentator from Northern Ireland who supports the European team.

Team Europe has been preparing for the Bethpage fans since almost day one. Recently, veteran star Justin Rose said that they are working on the right mentality to handle the expected loud crowd.

Wadkins won five of the eight Ryder Cups he played in, in addition to being a member of the team that tied for the title in 1989. His record includes an impressive 20 matches won and 21.5 points contributed to his team, placing him among the greatest of all time.

Playing at home has been a determining factor in the Ryder Cup for the past 40 years. Suffice it to say that Europe hasn’t won an away edition since 2012, although its record is much better than that of the United States, which hasn’t won across the Atlantic since 1993.

More Golf: Insiders Predict Ryder Cup Will Be Unlike Anything the Sport Has Ever Seen