Danny Willett salutes US fans on final day of build up to Ryder Cup
By Keith Jackson at Hazeltine
Last Updated: 29/09/16 11:03pm
Danny Willett has revealed he has suffered little backlash from the home galleries at Hazeltine following his brother's controversial magazine article ahead of the Ryder Cup.
Pete Willett was highly critical of American fans in the article, which prompted Willett to apologise personally to Davis Love and his team while European captain Darren Clarke expressed his "bitter disappointment" over the comments.
The Masters champion confirmed that he had spoken to his brother over the issue, which has been an unwelcome distraction for what Willett had hoped would be a "special week" as a Ryder Cup rookie.
"We spoke to each other about what was said and how it got interpreted and the reactions from it," said Willett at a packed press conference ahead of the opening ceremony. "I was disappointed in what he wrote and obviously, you know, it put a bit of a downer on my first Ryder Cup for the last couple of days.
"Luckily, you know, it's not been too bad with the fans. The fans have still been great. There's a few shouts out there but you can expect that. Hopefully everyone can kind of draw a line under it, and we can just come out here and play some golf."
Willett admitted his brother's article could make him a target for abuse over the remainder of the week, although he added that the American team had been very supportive of him.
He said: "Obviously coming to America, you're already a bit of a target. Obviously the European team, the 12 guys. And yeah, it kind of centered the attention a bit more, obviously, upon myself maybe.
"But like I said, it wasn't my writing and wasn't the team's writing or anything like that. I spoke to Davis yesterday and he was happy to draw a line under it. Obviously it's nothing that I mean or that I've said, and I spoke to some of the American guys last night and they felt the same way.
"So, in an ideal world, the fans would do the same thing, and we won't let it tarnish the 41st Ryder Cup. But it's been pretty tricky for me to get back on and fully focus. Hopefully it's died down a little bit more and hopefully we can all get on with what we're here to do."
Willett also revealed his brother had apologised to him over the phone for the content of the article and the furore it generated at Hazeltine National.
"Pete's apologised to me for the things obviously thrown up from this, and how it's kind of been taken over here. I don't think the language was obviously all that great. And I think a lot of the things that were said, you know, can be taken a very bad way and obviously that's what's happened.
"I still don't think it was correct in what was said, and it's a very difficult one. It's just an unfortunate circumstance; and obviously it is my brother and he's written some things there that have offended people. We're just trying to move on now and, come Friday morning, you've got 24 of the best golfers in the world going head-to-head."
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