British Ryder Cup Golfer Apologises Over Anti-American Jibes

British Ryder Cup golfer Danny Willett has apologised for an article written by his brother, in which he called American golfing fans “cretins” and “pudgy, basement dwelling irritants.”

Peter Willett wrote the article for golfing magazine National Club Golfer to coincide with the start of the tournament, which runs from Sept. 27 – Oct. 2 at Hazeltine, Minnesota. In the piece, he calls American golfing fans a “baying mob of imbeciles”, and urges the European team to “smash the obnoxious dads, with their shiny teeth, Lego man hair, medicated ex-wives, and resentful children”. Willett, a drama teacher in the U.K., gained attention for his light-hearted social media commentary of his brother’s Masters victory in April this year. He shared the article in question via his Twitter account, saying “Sorry to any American followers… but I mean every word.”

As reported by the BBC, Danny Willett addressed the article and said “I apologise. It’s not the thoughts of me or the team.” Team Europe Captain Darren Clarke said in a press conference on Tuesday that “it is not what Danny thinks, it is not what I think and it is not what Team Europe stands for. I was obviously very disappointed as well because that is an outside person expressing their opinion which is not representative of what our thoughts are.”

[BBC]