The Loop

This fan's Harry Potter-themed shout for Lanto Griffin at the Travelers Championship is worthy of praise

Last Sunday afternoon at the U.S. Open I made my way to the first tee at Shinnecock looking to catch the Henrik Stenson/Justin Rose pairing as they teed off in the final round. Once they arrived, I positioned myself left of the tee box and kneeled down so the fans behind me could see the two major champions begin their round. That's when I heard a conversation between two friends directly over my left shoulder that made my eyes roll to the back of my head.

"Dude, I have the broadcast on in my headphones, I can hear what's going on," said the one guy to his friend. OK, that's fine, I thought. What golf diehard wouldn't want to hear what else is going on out on the course that they can't see? Sounds like a novel idea now that I thought about it.

Yeah, that wasn't the case with these two.

Once Stenson struck his tee shot, the other fan screamed something incredibly stupid, just as many New York fans did throughout the week. He did the same for Rose. Cringeworthy stuff, but not nearly as cringeworthy as what his friend said to him afterwards.

"YO! I could hear you on the broadcast!!"

Is this really what it's come to? Screaming inane shit as loud as possible in the hopes that one of your buddies hears you? Wow, sick man! Obviously, these weren't the only two bozos on the property last week, and they certainly won't be the last two we see/hear on the PGA Tour this season. Still, it was lamest of the lame, furthering the argument that guys that scream this crap should be booted from the property. And this is coming from a person who was once on the other side of the argument. The side of "oh, get a grip, it happens to every other athlete in every sport." But this particular instance made me realize how annoyingly over-the-top its gotten.

With all that being said, I may have just changed my stance once again, because if other fans can get as creative as this one did at the Travelers Championship on Saturday, then maybe we can let it slide. Rory McIlroy and Lanto Griffin, whose journey to the PGA Tour has been a fascinating one, were paired together in the third round at TPC River Highlands, and when Griffin made contact on his opening tee shot, a fan broke out a hilarious, Harry Potter-themed shout that's worthy of praise. Extra points for the pun of course:

If you get a tour pro to actually laugh, you know you're doing something right. So shoutout to this fan for finally yelling something better than "mashed potatoes" or "light the candle."