Europe’s captain was roundly booed but took his chance to subtly highlight the issue of payment for the US team, too
Turns out that European is only the second-worst thing you can be at Bethpage this week. Luke Donald and his team may have been booed at the opening ceremony on Wednesday, but the reception they got from the tens of thousands of liquored-up golf fans who had hung around to watch was a warm welcome compared to the one they gave New York state’s governor, the Democrat Kathy Hochul, who was jeered so loudly that her short speech was just about drowned out. Donald should maybe think about bringing her in as a last‑minute vice-captain, just to draw the fire away from his team.
“Relax everybody, she’s not Roger Goodell,” said the master of ceremonies, Carson Daly, referencing the unpopular NFL commissioner. It didn’t help. “What should everyone coming here for the first time know about New York?” he asked Hochul. (“She has no idea! She lives in Albany!” bellowed a man standing nearby, “Get her outta here!” roared another.) Hochul, a rictus grin fixed on her face, said something about how “we have the most friendly people you will ever meet” and was immediately shouted down by the locals. “That went well,” Daly said, deadpan, after Hochul beat a retreat from the stage.
