An American said the Presidents Cup vibe was ‘dead.’ Here’s one humble proposal

MEDINAH, Ill. — Wyndham Clark wanted noise, and he knew how that would sound.

“These guys are going to laugh,” Clark said, gesturing toward Scottie Scheffler and Sam Burns, who were sitting beside him.

After Clark and Collin Morikawa won their Day 1 four-ball match at the Presidents Cup, Clark unexpectedly said the atmosphere had been too quiet.

“It was kind of dead out there,” he said. “I felt like the momentum could have been better, to be honest, because we weren’t really feeling the fans as much as normal.

“Collin hit a 5-wood on the 11th hole to about 10 feet, and we didn’t even know whether it was on the green because no one clapped. It was a little surprising. We made some big putts — I’m saying this more as a challenge — and hopefully tomorrow and over the weekend the fans are really out there rooting us on. Regardless of what happens, we need to feel that momentum.”

A few minutes later, American captain Brandt Snedeker agreed, calling it “a weird day.” Maybe it was because it was Thursday, because of the viewing areas or because of the general uncertainty surrounding the local football team’s quarterback injury. Fandom can be fickle.

But there is also a question of balance. You do not want the event to feel like a church service. But you also do not want to repeat what happened last September at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, where some of the language used by fans was so extreme that even Webster’s dictionary might not have recognized it.

After Friday’s International sweep — five wins in five alternate-shot matches, leaving the Internationals ahead 7-3 overall — the question became more pressing. Perhaps what is needed is not words, but songs.

European fans have long used soccer-style chants at major events. The Guardians of the Cup, a European fan group, have songs about Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Team Europe; its website includes chants dating back a decade.

Josh Crutchmer, the author of several books about music and a contributor to Rolling Stone, said the answer lies in European sports culture.

“It’s absolutely the culture,” he wrote. “European sports generally predate our own, and sports with collective fandom associated with them — golf, soccer, rugby — have been communal for centuries. Anything from a church hymn to a war cry to a sea shanty could naturally become a sports chant.

“Drop modern pop culture on top of that history and major golf tournaments are great fodder for inventing chants like this.”

Why has that not taken off in the United States? Crutchmer said American fans could look to their own college traditions: chants are already a major part of college softball and soccer, while football fans celebrate touchdowns with fight songs and singalongs.

“We’re not as far away from this as we think. It’s just a matter of taking ourselves one step less seriously as fans,” he said.

On Friday, GOLF.com writer Nick Piastowski and videographer Will Moriarty spoke with several willing fans at Medinah about Clark’s comments and the proposal for American chants. Most agreed with Clark and expected the noise to increase over the remaining days. Many also believed songs were primarily a European tradition.

Friends Gage and Leebo tried the Tommy Fleetwood chant, using Scottie Scheffler’s name instead:

“Scottie, Scottie-Scottie, Scottie, Scottie Scheffler.”

But after Friday, the Americans needed something bigger and bolder. The Internationals won all five alternate-shot matches, leaving the U.S. team in serious trouble heading into Saturday.

That was when Keenan Fitzpatrick, one of Clark’s childhood friends, stepped in. After hearing about Clark’s comments, Fitzpatrick flew in from Colorado, put on a jumpsuit that made some onlookers think of stuntman Evel Knievel, and brought a second one in case someone else wanted to join him.

“This sport goes back ages, and we’re going to learn to get loud,” Fitzpatrick said.

When asked if he wanted to sing, he said it would make him bounce around. It did:

“Wyn-dham, Wyn-dham, Wyn-dham, Wyn-dham, Wyn-dham, Go, Dub!”

Maybe Clark heard it.

By Nick Piastowski, GOLF.com.