Alleged ‘American’ Paid-For-Hire Fan Conspiracy Breaks Out At Presidents Cup
- Updated: December 12, 2019
Twitter/@pgatour
A WILD conspiracy has broken out at the Presidents Cup and it has nothing to do with the golf being played inside the ropes.
Shane Ryan, author of “Slaying the Tiger: A Year Inside the Ropes on the New PGA Tour“, is in Melbourne covering the Presidents Cup for Golf Digest and happened to discover some disturbing info about the fans attending the event, particularly some of the “American” ones.
Turns out the group known as “The Fanatics,” which attend basically every Presidents Cup and are known for their antics, songs, and costumes, especially on the first tee, is an alleged paid-for-hire scheme!
Adam Hadwin just won the crowd by wearing the Fanatics uniform. Looks like this could be a fun afternoon. @PresidentsCup pic.twitter.com/P30wf23S8u
— Bob Weeks (@BobWeeksTSN) October 1, 2017
Here’s the thread Ryan posted on Twitter before Day 2 from Royal Melbourne breaking down what he uncovered through sound, investigative reporting:
So the real paranoia trip of day one at the Presidents Cup started with the fans. Two groups of ~25 fans each sitting in stadium seats behind no. 1 tee, half of them in International Yellow, half in American stars and stripes. Both singing constantly, back-and-forth…
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) December 12, 2019
…on the surface it looked like a decent scene. But something sounded weird from the Americans. “Why are they singing with an accent?” I asked, and I was not the first. Turns out, it’s a group of fans-for-hire called The Fanatics, they’re all Aussies, and half of them…
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) December 12, 2019
…had been contracted to play Americans. Not sure who paid them or if they were just given good seats or what, but the big hint came when none of the “Internationals” gave Reed any shit when he came to the tee. (The actual fans took care of that: https://t.co/GnulmYXI8a)
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) December 12, 2019
…I was on a hole on the front nine, and saw a group of 15 people all dressed in American gear. But they were totally silent, obviously not the Fanatics, just waving these American fans, decked out in bandannas and coats and scarves, America everywhere…
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) December 12, 2019
I thought maybe it’d be a good story, so I walked over and asked, “did you all fly over together for this?” Two or three stared at me, expressionless…absolutely no idea what I was saying, didn’t speak English. Folks…WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON WITH THE “AMERICAN” FANS HERE?
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) December 12, 2019
Normally you can trust me to the be kind of enterprising investigator who refuses to quit until he delivers the true story to the people. But this one unsettles me. A conspiracy that could endanger me if I stick my neck out.
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) December 12, 2019
So, in conclusion, to whichever shady power brokers are behind this, my silence can be bought for a fair price. Threats would also work, but would prefer to do this the easy way.
— Shane Ryan (@ShaneRyanHere) December 12, 2019
Controversies are nothing new at team events (see Patrick Reed) but this paid-for-hire fan conspiracy is next level. What the hell is happening down under?!
First, Ryan gets info on essentially actors portraying American fans and then runs into a group of people wearing American gear and waving flags who don’t speak any English?
Listen, if you want to root for the USA and you’re not from the USA, more power to you. There’s nothing wrong with that. We’re all about democracy. But seriously, what a wild situation this is!
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