Late on Saturday at Bethpage Black, with the Europeans cruising and turning this Ryder Cup into a laugher, we finally saw some American energy — although this example was contained to a tense moment off the green.
Europe won three of four foursomes matches to begin Saturday, and the rout continued as Europe led all four afternoon four-ball matches. The lopsided score took some juice out of the event, but then came a Justin Rose putt on the 15th green.
Rose and Tommy Fleetwood were 3 up after 14 holes versus Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler, and on the 15th green Rose walked up to read his birdie try. Rose studied his putt from behind the ball, but then he stopped, said something and waved off DeChambeau’s caddie, Greg Bodine, who started to approach DeChambeau’s nearby mark. The usually mild-mannered Rose was irked.
NBC on-course reporter Smylie Kaufman called it a “heated exchange.”
“Justin Rose just telling the caddie of Bryson, Greg Bodine, to get out of his way when he was reading his putt,” Kaufman said. “I think there was a little misunderstanding of who was away.”
Rose drained the putt — his eighth of the day — and then waited on DeChambeau, who needed to make his birdie attempt to extend the match.
“There’s still an exchange going on on the right side of the green,” Kaufman said. “I think Greg Bodine came over to apologize or make his case and Justin really wasn’t having it.”
DeChambeau rolled in his birdie to tie the hole, but his celebration was subdued. Instead he started talking to Rose and Fleetwood as they walked off the green. Cameras followed the players up to the 16th tee, where things got even more heated.
An animated DeChambeau was chirping at Fleetwood, and Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, was in a tense conversation with European vice-captain Edoardo Molinari. At one point Fleetwood purposely walked between Scott and Molinari.
Fleetwood’s caddie, Ian Finnis, could be heard on the broadcast saying, “Let’s all just chill.”
The conversation continued on the next tee, with Finnis, trying to play the peacemaker, telling DeChambeau and Bodine, “Let’s play. He can take as long as he wants.”
“Let’s go guys, let’s play,” DeChambeau said to the group. “It’s all good.”
The broadcast caught up with the group a few minutes later, and Kaufman provided an update: “No exaggeration guys — every single person on this tee is heated.”
Later, after closing out the 3-and-2 victory, Rose explained the situation in a post-round interview with Golf Channel’s Damon Hack.
“It was a shame that the match got to that point cause it was a really, really great match,” Rose said. “I was waiting to putt. The boys were obviously working on their read, obviously going on with their calculations and bits and pieces. So I waited a few seconds, and then I felt like they came up again. I questioned — it’s my putt, right? Or however I said it, maybe I didn’t say it as politely as I could have said it in the moment but by no means was there any disrespect or anything like that, but obviously it was taken the wrong way.
“I don’t think we should dwell on that one honestly. I said to the boys, If you want me to say, ‘Excuse me please,’ then yeah my bad.”
Fleetwood was asked a follow up, about how if that tense moment is an example of what the Ryder Cup does to competitors.
He shrugged.
“I guess it’s part of it, right?” he said. “It’s one moment out of two days of a lot of golf and a lot of great golf. … It happens.”
Europe leads the U.S. 11.5-4.5 with 12 singles matches remaining, meaning the Americans have lots of work to do if they want to have a chance on Sunday at Bethpage Black.
