'Too far': Sergio Garcia's wife takes aim at American golf fans
Sergio Garcia's wife has vowed to call out 'embarrassing' American golf fans at the Ryder Cup like she did in 2016.
Angela Akins is American and married to Spanish golf champion Garcia.
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Speaking on Tuesday ahead of this weekend's Ryder Cup, Akins revealed how she confronted some foul-mouthed American spectators the last time the Ryder Cup was held in States five years ago.
Akins said she heard fans saying "horrible" things about Garcia and is determined to step in again this year if anyone steps out of line.
"I understand cheering for your team but let's leave the insults out," she said in an interview with CNN.
“It went too far at Hazeltine when I was following Sergio, and I ended up having a go at a group of guys who were barracking him.
"I said to them: 'I'm here supporting the European team, I'm an American, and you're embarrassing me'.
"The people around us joined in and said: 'Yeah, you're embarrassing us too!' So I said to the guys I want to see American fans being better than that.
“To be fair to them, they said OK, and later on they saw me again, and by then they'd figured out who I was.
“They came over and gave me a hug and apologised. I think there were four of them. We all hugged, and it was all good."
European golfers turn on the 'cheesehead' charm
The Ryder Cup is a biannual tournament pitting America's best golfers against a team of Europe's finest.
The location of the tournament alternates between the US and Europe, with Wisconsin's Whistling Straights playing host to this year's event.
The competition is well-known for its often raucous fan atmosphere in a sport that generally shuns such shenanigans.
The international nature of the event courts enthusiastic fandom that has sometimes drawn charges of jingoism from European critics.
On Wednesday, the European players launched a charm offensive ahead of the 43rd Ryder Cup, adopting the team colours of the Green Bay Packers and throwing "cheesehead" souvenirs into the crowd.
On the second full day of practice, the visiting team wore predominantly white tops with green and yellow stripes in tribute to the NFL's Packers, who are based an hour north of the course in Green Bay.
They also donned foam "cheeseheads" - the nickname for Packers fans which derives from a Dutch word used by residents of Illinois to insult people from Wisconsin - before giving them away to delighted fans in the grandstand surrounding the first tee.
"When we first went on to the tee the fans didn't know about it and they went wild," European captain Padraig Harrington smiled.
"The Wisconsin fans are very appreciative and we want to show our appreciation. We think the colours turned out nice and I think the players are stoked they are doing something to show their respect for the local state they are in."
with Yahoo Sports and AAP
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