Bethpage Black a Blueprint of America Today

The 2025 Ryder Cup played at Bethpage Black in New York turned out to be a stark and rather depressing reflection of US society. It’s as if the PGA of America held up a mirror to American society as it stands today. 

The American captain, no doubt influenced by Donald Trump himself, to put the presidents fluffer in chief, the biggest clown in the game front and centre. Enter stage left, Bryson DeChambeau. Just as Trump drums up the support and following of a substantial group of delusional, lunatic, MAGA conspiracy theorists, so does DeChambeau rally a similar crowd of uneducated, low class filth, howling vitriolic abuse at their opponents. Bryson epitomises the narcissistic, conceited image of his orange commander in chief, with his ridiculous posturing and self important chest beating.

What happened at Bethpage Black in this year's Ryder Cup has nothing to do with sport and should never happen again. Just as Donald Trumps alternative reality, bluster and continuous outrageous behaviour has nothing to do with modern politics and being a leader or a role model for young Americans and the next generation. 

Bryson and Justin Thomas very well knew what was being shouted at Rory and Shane during their backswings, and what was being done to Rory’s wife outside the ropes, due in large part to their over exuberant and frankly slightly deranged celebrations towards the crowd and still chose to ignore it (apart from some half hearted attempts by JT to quiet the crowd, albeit almost instantly followed by aggressive chest thumping attempts to whip them into an even nastier frenzy). In the same way that Trump knows very well, what was done to Nancy Pelosi's husband in the name of his "stolen election" conspiracy nonsense. Yet he also chose to ignore such attacks on his political opponents by MAGA inspired criminals, instead blaming the liberal left for the current explosive and violent political landscape and for what happened to Charlie Kirk. 

It's an alternate reality where you can say anything and deny everything, even in the face of blatant facts. The louder, the better. There's no accountability or human decency.  If the president does it, and encourages his followers to do the same, this is what you get. Throw in legitimising public figure lunatics like Marjorie Taylor-Green and an MC comedian firing up the first tee crowd with "Fuck you, Rory", you end up with a tribal, anarchist society as we witnessed at Bethpage Black this past weekend. 

American society is being rebuilt on a distorted reality and a caricature of its own worst clichés. It's filtering into all parts of American society and it was on embarrassing display for the world to see at the weekend. It was a battle between classless American hooliganism and European decency and grit. Thank fuck decency won and is still worth fighting for...