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Paul Azinger urges crowd to cheer European mistakes

U.S. captain Paul Azinger knows the Ryder Cup is as much about sportsmanship as it is about golf.

Sportsmanship, however, takes on a little different hue during the Cup. Azinger told fans at Valhalla it was OK to applaud when the Europeans make a mistake.

Azinger knows it doesn’t sound sporting, but he has played on enough U.S. Ryder Cup teams to know cheering against the opponent is common practice in Europe.

“Essentially, you know, when we go over there, they cheer when we miss,” Azinger said. “I don’t think that the American fans are really into what the Ryder Cup is all about in the fact that, you know, there is that other element.”

Azinger stressed it wasn’t a slam on European fans. In fact, he praised them.

“If we lose a hole or we miss a putt, they cheer,” Azinger said. “I don’t think the American fans get that part. Golf is, everybody oohs and aahs, but the European fans, they get it. The American fans, they don’t, and they are not used to that.”

They’re not used to having massive pep rallies either at the Ryder Cup, but thousands of fans packed the pep rally. Azinger planned on attending the event alone and even ordered his team to stay behind to rest up for the long Friday ahead.

When Azinger hopped on the bus with his “13th man” shirt on, he found the rest of the team waiting for him.

“He just looked at us and said, ‘Good to see my authority is being followed as the captain,”’ Hunter Mahan said.