Ryder Cup brings out the passion in golf

Golf etiquette usually goes like this: When a player arrives at the tee, the crowd claps for a few moments before falling respectfully silent.

That’s not what happened at the Ryder Cup two years ago at Medinah, outside Chicago.

As Ian Poulter stepped up to the ball, he asked for some noise. The fans began to cheer and the English veteran demanded more, waving his hand until they broke out in song.

That, in a nutshell, is the difference between the Ryder Cup and pretty much every other tournament.

“The biggest adrenaline rush you could ever possibly have,” Poulter calls it. “You don’t get that experience in any other form of golf.”

Unbridled emotion might seem treacherous in a sport that demands exact repetition by way of unfaltering concentration. But as the 2014 Ryder Cup begins at Gleneagles on Friday, players from the U.S. and Europe are looking forward to a little excitement.

“Ryder Cup brings out a different audience sometimes and people that might not play golf,” said Bubba Watson, who also roused the crowd at Medinah. “Why not show them how fun it can be?”

The nature of the event — a team competition pitting the U.S. against continental Europe over three days of cutthroat matches — is bound to inflame passions.

Lots of Ryder Cup golfers have played to the gallery, be it Boo Weekly riding his driver like a hobby horse, Sergio Garcia sprinting down the fairway or Tom Lehman conducting an impromptu fan rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.”

The galleries have responded in kind.

“You learn a lot about yourself and how to handle pressure, how to handle intense situations and bring out your golf in those moments,” said Phil Mickelson, who will make his 10th Cup appearance at Gleneagles.

If Poulter figures to serve as head cheerleader for the Europeans — clenching his fists, baring his teeth and sticking his chest out for the home crowd — the Americans will answer with Keegan Bradley.

At the 2012 Ryder Cup, Bradley teamed with Mickelson for two days of hugging and high-fiving. For him, it was a case of coming full circle.

Bradley attended the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline in Massachusetts as a boy, witnessing an incident that many believe crossed the line from exuberance into poor sportsmanship.

Near the end of Sunday’s singles matches, as the U.S. was rallying, Justin Leonard’s long birdie putt sparked a raucous celebration among teammates, caddies and some of the wives, all of whom rushed onto the 17th green. The problem was, Leonard’s opponent — Jose Maria Olazabal — was standing there with a chance to tie the hole. He ended up missing his putt as Europe lost.

Controversy aside, Bradley recalled: “I fell in love with the Ryder Cup that week. The passion that I saw, I had never seen that before in golf.”

Even caddies get in on the action. In 2012, after winning a foursomes match with Mickelson, Bradley watched his normally reserved bag man — Steve “Pepsi” Hale — swing the flagstick in big circles overhead.

Mickelson recalled that Hale “is very monotone on how he speaks, and to see him whipping that flag around was totally out of character.”

Emotions could run just as high this week in a country known as the birthplace of golf. “I think the crowds are going to be phenomenal,” Graeme McDowell said.

Lee Westwood will encourage a continuation of the Cup’s musical history. While Americans tend toward patriotic songs, European crowds have been known to croon soccer anthems or variations thereof.

“They are always creative,” Westwood said. “I want to be in the pub the night before when they are making them all up.”

As for the teams, European captain Paul McGinley calls himself “a traditionalist at heart” but has not advised his players on how to act. Neither has U.S. captain Tom Watson.

Bradley plans to tone things down on foreign soil.

“It’s going to be something that I’m going to need to adjust to,” he said. “Because I need to be respectful to the fans and to everybody.”

Curiously absent in all of this talk is any mention of emotions becoming a distraction.

A certain transformation seems to come over players who, for the rest of the year, wear poker faces and demand complete silence when addressing a two-foot putt.

“In the time that I’ve witnessed watching Ryder Cups, I’ve seen everybody fist-pump,” Poulter said. “Obviously, everybody fist-pumps differently.”

Such intensity would be impossible to maintain from week to week on the PGA Tour. That’s why Poulter looks forward to the Ryder Cup every two years.

“You don’t need to control it,” he said of the adrenaline. “You just need to grab hold of it and let it go.”

david.wharton@latimes.com

Twitter: @LATimesWharton