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There is a possibility that the 2020 Ryder Cup could be played without fans, and nobody, not even world No. 1 Rory McIlroy, is on board with that idea.
PGA of America CEO Seth Waugh recently said that there have been discussions about playing the event without spectators and that a ‘virtual fan experience’ could be in the works if that is the case.
Of course, there are plenty of moving parts behind the scenes involving the Ryder Cup, and putting on the event plus the health and safety for everyone involved is the top priority. Still, having said that, the fans are a massive, massive part of the Ryder Cup experience and McIlroy made it very clear that he’d rather see the event pushed back a year than be played with no spectators.
“A Ryder Cup without fans is not a Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said during an Instagram live session with TaylorMade. “For me, I’d much rather they delay it until 2021 than play it at Whistling Straits without fans. “That’s from a European, going to America, knowing that I’m going to get abuse.
Rory McIlroy: “Having a Ryder Cup without fans is not a Ryder Cup.” Says he’d much rather see it get postponed than played without fans. https://t.co/1RFXGSv5KW
— Mark Harris (@itismarkharris) April 21, 2020
Plenty can change between now and Sept. 25 when the Ryder Cup is scheduled to take place, but having the game’s top player come out and be completely against the idea of playing with no fans is a bold statement in and amongst itself.
McIlroy certainly isn’t the only player that shares those exact thoughts, in fact, you’d probably be tough to find any player that would give the nod to having a Ryder Cup without fans.
Tommy Fleetwood, who made his Ryder Cup debut in 2018, also shut down the idea and made a good point about whether or not the pressure of the event would be the same without spectators.
“Is the pressure the same [without fans]? I don’t think it can be if nobody is there,” Fleetwood said according to Golf Digest. “That’s what makes it. Sixty, Seventy thousand people watching and there are only four groups on the golf course. It’s amazing, and it massively makes the Ryder Cup what it is.”
The Ryder Cup is scheduled for Sept. 25-27 at Whistling Straits, which is the week following the U.S. Open.