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In nearly two months' time, the best golfers in the United States and Europe will travel to Long Island, New York to compete in the 45th edition of the Ryder Cup.
But even though there's plenty of time between now and then, the father of one of the best American golfers has already said he has no intention of showing up to Bethpage Black in late September.
Xander Schaufele's father, Stefan Schaufele, told The Times of London that he has no intention of going to the tournament to watch his son play.
In an in-depth feature on golf and his family, Stefan - who has served as the coach of the two-time major winner and defending Open Championship victor - revealed his apprehension over the behavior of the fans descending upon New York.
'Do I miss the PGA Tour? No. I'm not going to the Ryder Cup either,' Stefan told the outlet. He added, 'I'm afraid of what's going to happen in New York.'
Stefan then recalled an incident that occurred in Wisconsin at Whistling Straits when the US last hosted the event in 2021.
Stefan Schauffele, the father of Xander Schauffele, will not go to the Ryder Cup this year
Stefan said poor behavior from US fans at Whistling Straits in 2021 will keep him away
He also called the incident between Rory McIlroy (L) and Joe LaCava (R) in 2023 'disgusting'
Schauffele and Team USA will hope for redemption after being decimated in Rome in 2023
'I was there when they called Shane Lowry's wife a wh**e in front of him. I couldn't believe my ears,' Stefan said.
"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].
He concluded: 'It’s only going to get worse. It’s ruined my appetite for the Ryder Cup. It becomes unwatchable.'
The Ryder Cup is an intense and competitive event, with that intensity often spilling off the course and into the crowd.
But that air of animosity between Team Europe and Team USA etched its latest chapter nearly two years ago when McIlroy and LaCava almost fist fought each other in the parking lot of the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome.
The Americans were outclassed from the beginning - with Team Europe winning all four foursomes early on Friday to take a dominant lead.
That continued that afternoon when three fourball matches were halved until McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick beat Schauffele and Collin Morikawa 5&3 to lead 6.5-1.5 at the close of day one.
Saturday didn't yield much better results for Schauffele as he and partner Patrick Cantlay lost 2&1 to the pair of Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton.
Schaufele finally got on the board on Sunday when he beat Nicolai Højgaard 3&2 to win his singles match, but the rest of Team USA struggled when faced with a five-point deficit from the day before.
As the PGA Championship and Open Championship winner for 2024, Schauffele is second on Team USA's Ryder Cup points list behind Scottie Scheffler.
