The Ryder Cup has become too much for Xander Schauffele’s father.
The outspoken Stefan Schauffele complained about how outrageous the Ryder Cup has become in recent years and said he has no plans to attend in September at Bethpage in an in-depth feature in The Times of London.
“Do I miss the PGA Tour? No. I’m not going to the Ryder Cup either,” the German-born Stefan, who has been Xander’s coach for much of his career, told the paper.
“I’m afraid of what’s going to happen in New York. I was there [at Whistling Straits] when they called Shane Lowry’s wife a w—e in front of him. I couldn’t believe my ears.
“Then I saw what happened in Rome. That was utterly disgusting claiming this money bulls–t and Rory [McIlroy] behaved disgustingly in my opinion [when he confronted Patrick Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava]. It’s only going to get worse. It’s ruined my appetite for the Ryder Cup. It becomes unwatchable.”
The McIlroy incident is well-known.
The Northern Irishman had a heated moment with LaCava after Cantlay holed a putt on the 18th hole at the 2023 Ryder Cup at Rome.
LaCava waved his hat at the crowd to celebrate after rumors swirled that Cantlay was playing hat-less in protest of players not getting paid for the Ryder Cup.
McIlroy still had a putt to halve the match and felt LaCava’s boisterousness got in the way of his preparation.
After words were exchanged on the green, McIlroy then confronted Justin Thomas’ caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, in the parking lot — stealing headlines from a dominant European performance over the Americans.
That type of raucous behavior is usually seen in the galleries as the Ryder Cup has become known for its exuberant fan behavior.
For Stefan, that clearly extended to the American fans, given the comment he recalled about Lowry’s wife, Wendy, from 2021 — the last time the event was on U.S. soil.
In Hazeltine in 2016, McIlroy was reportedly told to “suck a d–k” and repeatedly serenaded with “Sweet Caroline” by fans after he had recently split with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki.
After the Americans were dominated in Rome, fan fervor is expected to be at a high at Bethpage — which has been known for loud fan behavior even without the passion of the Ryder Cup.
Xander, who won the PGA Championship and British Open last year, is only behind Scottie Scheffler in the Ryder Cup standings and is all but assured a spot on the team.
He just won’t have his father there to cheer him on.
