Ryder Cup Star Targeted in 'Horrible' Incident as US Fan Ejected

A US fan once had to be 'flung out' of the course during a Ryder Cup after targeting a Team Europe star.

Back in 2008, the USA secured a huge victory over Europe in Kentucky, scoring 16 1/2 points to Europe's 11 1/2.

The Americans had to do without Tiger Woods due to a knee injury, but Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk and Stewart Cink were among those involved in helping them to victory.

After the first day, USA held a three-point lead over the Europeans, which was cut back to two points at the end of day two.

The final day of the Ryder Cup sees all 24 players play in singles matches to determine the overall winner.

The Americans won five of the first eight matches to be played, along with one halved game, to secure overall victory before several matches had been completed.

Europe captain Nick Faldo was criticised for positioning some of his top players towards the end of the schedule - by which point the Ryder Cup had already been lost.

British star Lee Westwood played Ben Curtis in the penultimate matchup and, although he lost, he could do nothing to affect the overall outcome.

Speaking to The Telegraph ahead of this year's tournament, Westwood revealed that Team USA - led by captain Paul Azinger - attempted to make the environment as hostile as possible for the European team.

And while most of that hostility was good-natured, the former PGA Tour world number one revealed how it inevitably spilled over.

"In Kentucky, we watched it boil over into the ugly [stuff] again," Westwood began.

"Their captain Paul Azinger was geeing them up from the start, telling the fans to cheer when we missed a putt. That doesn't happen in Europe, or didn't then, anyway. If the US team missed a putt there was silence and then a clap because we've won the hole.

"It's not golf to mind and some of the stuff being yelled at us was horrible.

"There was one particularly nasty reference to my mother, and there was this guy dressed as a ghost who kept appearing in front of me and shouting 'boo'. I actually thought that was quite funny, but he was flung out.

"We had the overnight calls. My dad got one at 4:30am, because they not only got the wrong Westwood, but the wrong hotel. That sums them up. The Americans outplayed us that week, no problem, but again the behaviour was OTT."