Thrice Major champion Jordan Spieth believes betting a root cause of fan behaviour issues

LOS ANGELES – Jordan Spieth was asked on June 30 about the apparent rise in heckling at PGA Tour events and the Major championships. The reporter did not mention betting, but the former world No. 1 was quick to take it there.

The golf world, just like the sports world writ large, has grappled with the legalisation and then the proliferation of sports betting in the United States. And Spieth made the connection between sports betting and increasingly unruly galleries during his pre-event press conference at the John Deere Classic in Silvis, Illinois.

Specifically, he discussed Wyndham Clark winning the US Open on June 21 while most of the crowd seemed to be vocally against him throughout the weekend.

“I think you had some unique circumstances there,” Spieth said. “I don’t know. I mean, I think the one thing that I’ll point out is I do think that betting in golf is something that’s going to have to be tackled here soon.

“Because I don’t know how much of, say, the Wyndham scenario was the fact that it was enticing to bet the field versus Wyndham on Sunday in a legalised betting state, and you could have had people out there that are essentially, you know, have US$100 (S$130) to US$10,000, depending on who it is, on the field versus somebody else.”

Spieth pointed out the very nature of attending a golf tournament. Unlike in many sports, where spectators are far enough removed from the court or field of play, a heckler in golf is close enough to shout during a backswing and affect the outcome he is betting on in one direction or another.

“In golf it’s tricky because you could actually impact the outcome if you wanted to,” the 32-year-old said. “It may not last very long, but you could impact a shot if you wanted to. I don’t know of another sport that you could impact as a fan like you can golf.”

The three-time Major champion went on to add that unruly fans, while in the spotlight now, are not a new phenomenon.

“I’ve also played rounds with guys who were not treated well 10, 15 years ago,” he said. “I don’t think it’s a crazy new thing. I do think the Bethpage (Black) Ryder Cup was, from what I understand, maybe a lingering effect from that with an American (versus) European (angle).

“You know, Cam Young (and Matt Fitzpatrick at) The Players,” world No. 53 Spieth added, citing fans at The Players Championship vocally rooting against Fitzpatrick in the final round.

“I’m trying to single them out for you, but I wasn’t a part of either one of them, but I will say that from what I’ve seen, a lot of times it has to do with betting, and that is in the last five years.

“We’ll see what happens with that.” REUTERS