Think Progress has provided a link to an article titled
Playing the Patriot Game from the Scottish Herald which describes how the Professional Golf Association Tour is dominated by right-wing, George-Bush-loving Republicans who support the Iraq occupation.
The reporter is Bruce Selcraig -- a former investigative reporter with Sports Illustrated magazine and the New York Times.
In the Herald article, Selcraig talks about the recent Ryder Cup, which pits European pros against American pros:
But there is still one significant cultural divide that is so sensitive an issue that most players simply avoid addressing it when they are on the others' turf.
Simply put, many Europeans and other international players are put off by the overwhelming number of American PGA Tour players who identify themselves as George Bush-loving Republicans who support the US occupation of Iraq.
Geoff Ogilvy, the affable and well-read Australian who won the US Open and has lived in Arizona with his Texan wife for four years, says: "A lot of their conservative views [on tour] are way off the map . . . I think George Bush is a bit dangerous. I think the world is scared while he's in office, [but] there's less tolerance of diversity [in opinions] over here [and] people have more blind faith in their government."
Selcraig says that European golfers have indicated that they feel like they'll be crucified in locker rooms if they speak out against Bush or the Iraq occupation.
And apparently it isn't just an unnatural love for Bush politics that drives them - these American golfers are also predominately Christian fundamentalists who hate Democrats:
This Republican tilt on tour has been documented since at least the Ronald Reagan administration and is so widely accepted as fact that in the presidential election year of 1996, Golf Digest asked me to do a story on tour politics and specifically hunt for any golfer who would actually admit to supporting Clinton, a Democrat (in 1993, some Republicans on the American Ryder Cup team threatened to boycott a visit to the White House to protest against a Clinton tax plan that raised taxes on the rich). My search only turned up one heretic - former US Open winner Scott Simpson - a free spirit and "born again Christian" who has now reversed his thinking and supports Bush.
[...]
Or, as American journeyman Robert Gamez told me in May: "We love our money . . . Democrats want you to pay for everyone . . . George Bush is all about family values. Look at us. We're all into our families. And we believe what Bush stands for. He's done a great job so far."
Among the more vocal Christian right-wing golfers is Tom Lehman. Selcraig relates that:
Lehman, who has never hidden his right-wing politics, once overheard me say the words "Bill Clinton" while I was interviewing a caddie on the driving range of the Texas Open in San Antonio.
Unsmiling, he stopped in mid-stride, walked over and said, "You mean that draft-dodging baby-killer?"
Not surprisingly, many Europeans are put off by this behavior. David Feherty, who is from Northern Ireland and was on a former European Ryder Cup team, said:
"I think a lot of Europeans find that conservative Christian thing as frightening as conservative Muslims," he said. "If you find any European pros who are in that Bible-thumping category, it's usually because they've been to the United States."
Selcraig then goes on to analyze why American pro golfers -- more than other athletes -- would have such views, and concludes:
The conventional wisdom for why so many American golf pros vote Republican is that, unlike their European mates, many of them were raised in upper class, homogenised neighbourhoods - often gated suburban estates - and learned their golf at private, all-white country clubs. Born from that mentality, the American PGA Tour expressly prohibited blacks from playing in their tournaments until 1961. In that environment they were surrounded by like-minded Republicans who shared their love for golf. When the young players arrived on tour they found virtually everything of any value literally handed to them, from Dell laptop computers to new cars, clothing and stock market advice, all happily provided by corporate sponsors who love to associate themselves with the squeaky-clean image of the PGA Tour.
From that lap of luxury it's not hard to imagine that the American tour pros see their lifestyle being attacked by those less fortunate.
In the article, Selcraig also quotes pro golfer John Cook, who is one of the anti-tax, anti-liberal crowd, and who admits that he doesn't know many liberals. Considering how cloistered and pampered American pro golfers are, I suspect he doesn't know many minorities either.
The article is a real eye-opener regarding a side of professional golf that you don't see much on American television -- I recommend you read the whole piece.