Plenty of reporting today regarding the heckling Sergio endured at the TPC yesterday. First, it's no secret I'm no Sergio fan......in fact, I find it generally easy to root even for Tige when the two play one another.....but I'm getting to the point where I myself am getting a little tired of all the grief with which he seems to be forced to deal with (or at least is reported).
He's really not as bad as he used to be with his moaning during his younger days, and fans going out of their way to give him the raspberries during event play really is entirely opposite of what Tour golf is supposed to be about. Of course, I haven't attended an event with Sergio in the field for well over a decade; so I don't know how really bad it is.
Maybe he just has rabbit ears, and maybe he could still be trying harder to be accessible to the US galleries. I also find myself wondering if he simply still lacks insight (at least publicly) as to how much he himself has contributed to these issues.....though I didn't feel he was at all confrontational with the media in the aftermath of yesterday's round. Not sure how he feels today.
Of course, with the knowledge he's unlikely to receive much in the way of an even break from US fans, one solution for him would be to avoid the US Tour altogether and play Europe exclusively; which he obviously doesn't want to do. But since I don't believe he has a residence (at least anything he'd consider full-time) in the US; it's not like he "needs" to play here for that reason.
OTOH, this kind of treatment continues to fan his Ryder Cup flames which he, like most Euros these days, seems to think is the most important aspect of his career. And why not; he excels at the format, and earns a fair amount of payback when he's got the full cover of a Euro team in his corner. So, maybe he has a quiet reason to purposely remain at an arm's length from US fans (and to maintain at least some personal attitude toward the US Tour).
But he certainly can't blame his problems on US fans' hatred for Euro players with a straight face, particularly when you consider Rory McElroy's popularity over here. And you've never heard Euros like Luke Donald or Paddy Harrington or Paul Casey or Henrik Stenson or Justin Rose or Lee Westwood or Martin Kaymer.....all quality guys......or even a loudmouth like Ian Poulter complaining about bad fan treatment.
Back to yesterday, I didn't feel as though there was much in the way of heckling that I could glean from the broadcast.. Of course, NBC producers don't have much to gain by accentuating negative gallery sounds when he's ready to hit, either.
He's really not as bad as he used to be with his moaning during his younger days, and fans going out of their way to give him the raspberries during event play really is entirely opposite of what Tour golf is supposed to be about. Of course, I haven't attended an event with Sergio in the field for well over a decade; so I don't know how really bad it is.
Maybe he just has rabbit ears, and maybe he could still be trying harder to be accessible to the US galleries. I also find myself wondering if he simply still lacks insight (at least publicly) as to how much he himself has contributed to these issues.....though I didn't feel he was at all confrontational with the media in the aftermath of yesterday's round. Not sure how he feels today.
Of course, with the knowledge he's unlikely to receive much in the way of an even break from US fans, one solution for him would be to avoid the US Tour altogether and play Europe exclusively; which he obviously doesn't want to do. But since I don't believe he has a residence (at least anything he'd consider full-time) in the US; it's not like he "needs" to play here for that reason.
OTOH, this kind of treatment continues to fan his Ryder Cup flames which he, like most Euros these days, seems to think is the most important aspect of his career. And why not; he excels at the format, and earns a fair amount of payback when he's got the full cover of a Euro team in his corner. So, maybe he has a quiet reason to purposely remain at an arm's length from US fans (and to maintain at least some personal attitude toward the US Tour).
But he certainly can't blame his problems on US fans' hatred for Euro players with a straight face, particularly when you consider Rory McElroy's popularity over here. And you've never heard Euros like Luke Donald or Paddy Harrington or Paul Casey or Henrik Stenson or Justin Rose or Lee Westwood or Martin Kaymer.....all quality guys......or even a loudmouth like Ian Poulter complaining about bad fan treatment.
Back to yesterday, I didn't feel as though there was much in the way of heckling that I could glean from the broadcast.. Of course, NBC producers don't have much to gain by accentuating negative gallery sounds when he's ready to hit, either.
