The Loop
Darren Clarke on inflammatory P.J. Willett article: "It's not what Team Europe is about"
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The first Ryder Cup firestorm was set aflame on Wednesday morning. And it didn't emit from a member of either team.
P.J. Willett, brother of Masters champion Danny Willett, wrote a funny -- albeit inflammatory -- story on the European Ryder Cup efforts. For those that don't follow P.J. on Twitter, he's an irreverent soul and not for the faint of heart. Even in that regard, some of his article's comments towards American crowds were particularly harsh:
They need to silence the pudgy, basement-dwelling, irritants, stuffed on cookie dough and pissy beer, pausing between mouthfuls of hotdog so they can scream ‘Baba booey’ until their jelly faces turn red.
They need to stun the angry, unwashed, Make America Great Again swarm, desperately gripping their concealed-carry compensators and belting out a mini-erection inducing ‘mashed potato,’ hoping to impress their cousin.
They need to smash the obnoxious dads, with their shiny teeth, Lego man hair, medicated ex-wives, and resentful children. Squeezed into their cargo shorts and boating shoes, they’ll bellow ‘get in the hole’ whilst high-fiving all the other members of the Dentists’ Big Game Hunt Society.
Makes Davis Love III's "best team ever" proclamation seem tame, doesn't it?
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At his press conference Wednesday afternoon, Darren Clarke spoke on the matter. As one can imagine, the European captain was not a fan of the piece.
"I just was made aware of the article about an hour ago," Clarke told the media at Hazeltine. "As soon as I did, I went out to find Danny, who was playing in the last group out there this morning. I spoke to Danny about it. I showed it to Danny. And he's bitterly disappointed in his brother's article. It is not what Danny thinks. It is not what I think. It is not what Team Europe stands for."
According to Clarke, Danny was also unaware of the article, and plans to speak to his brother about the remarks.
"I was obviously very disappointed in it, as well," Clarke continued, "because that's an outside person expressing their opinion which is not representative of what our thoughts are."