Earlier this week America finalised their 2018 Ryder Cup team after captain Jim Furyk opted to bring in the popular Tony Finau as his final pick. Europe skipper Thomas Bjorn had of course already confirmed his 12-man team, which didn’t feature Thomas Pieters - a surprise to some - who was overlooked in favour of the wildcard quartet of Ian Poulter, Sergio Garcia, Henrik Stenson, and Paul Casey.
Many fans thought Pieters would be in with a shot of making the team this time around, after all he was Europe's top points scorer from the 2016 edition at Hazeltine - as a rookie - where he bagged a whopping four points from five matches, including a singles victory over J.B. Holmes.
The atmosphere was pretty rowdy to say the least, with the raucous crowd at times crossing the line during the three days play, especially when it came to Pieters’ teammate Rory McIlroy - the duo won all three of their matches together.
The Belgian club-snapper, who is no stranger to showing his frustrations out on the course, has since spoken to Bunkered about his experience of playing in front of the Minnesota faithful at Hazeltine.
“For me, it wasn’t that bad because they didn’t know who I was,” said Pieters.
“They didn’t have any dirt on me or anything like that. But for Rory, yeah, it was pretty hostile.
“They shouted stuff at him that you shouldn’t shout at anybody anywhere. Maybe that’s because they sell beer at 7am and Americans can’t drink.
“But to be honest, you don’t really hear the words most of the time. It’s just a big wall of noise.”
Europe and the United States lock horns at Le Golf National between 28-30 September, with the visitors the 4/5 favourites, while Europe can be backed at 13/10. Alternatively, a draw is available at 12/1.
