When Payne Stewart was paired with Colin Montgomerie in the Sunday finals in the '99 Ryder Cup, on numerous occasions the US fans were asked to tone down the heckling. But it continued to happen over and over, despite the fact that Stewart became so embarrassed at their behavior that he himself felt compelled to intercede on numerous occasions.
"I don't know if Montgomerie has a bull's-eye on his back or what," Stewart said afterward, "but he doesn't deserve what he went through out there. It's not fair... There were numerous instances of heckling and a couple of people were removed. That's not what this sport is about."
The fact that the Cup had been decided a few holes prior to the conclusion of their match, perhaps, made it easier for Payne to do what he did on the final hole. But it would nevertheless prove to be a great example of sportsmanship, that there should be just as much grace with winning as losing, and that boorish behavior from fans in the galleries should never be tolerated.
Being 1-down heading into the final hole, Payne could've made Monty earn what ended up becoming little more than a consolation match on the 18th. Monty had struggled on the greens all week, and was facing a tricky double-breaking putt from short range to close Payne out in their meaningless match.
"As he was getting ready to putt, I said to my caddie, 'He doesn't deserve to have to make this putt. I'm not going to make him do it. I'm not going to put him through that should he miss."
As Monty was addressing his ball, Payne took off his cap and walked over to him with an outstretched hand. "Pick it up, Monty. It's good."
Some of us recall what had happened just a few moments earlier when Justin Leonard holed an unlikely putt from 45 feet on the 17th green for birdie, forcing Jose Marie Olazabal to respond by holing his upcoming 30 footer to halve the hole with the Cup still lying in the balance. What would happen would become a very regrettable moment never forgotten in Ryder Cup history. The excitement and joy was to be expected, but so too was awareness and decorum immediately afterward, except, it was nowhere to be found.
But that's what you get when you allow already-drunk fans to enter the gates, or fans who plan on getting shitfaced shortly thereafter. It's what you get when you have players like Patrick Reed, Sergio Garcia, etc. baiting the drunks on. The only people missing in Melbourne this week are Happy Gilmore and Shooter McGavin.