Howard Stern, Ian Poulter brought together on Twitter by idiot golf-course hecklers
One of the world's most popular golfers and the King of All Media crossed paths on Twitter on Sunday, and it was for the most peculiar of reasons: unruly fans.
If you watched even one stroke of golf this weekend at the PGA Championship, you got to enjoy the glory that was the gallery of idiots screaming "funny" slogans after every player hit. Here, enjoy a selection, starting with a "mashed potato!" for Tiger Woods:
Next, Keegan Bradley, who gets both a "Baba Booey" and a "Go Sawx!":
And finally, champion Jason Dufner, who gets a "Chewbacca!" to follow his drive:
Funny, right? Clever, right? Announcers chided the fans all through the tournament, and Jim Furyk even stopped after his tee shot on the 16th to glare at some fans who yelled as he was hitting.
Ian Poulter, the 17th-ranked golfer in the world, decided to take to Twitter to vent:
We should be allowed to take 10'000 volt tazers onto the course and tazer ever muppet who shouts out something stupid. I would laugh then.
— Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) August 11, 2013
He followed up with a NSFW line: "This baba boo [crap] & mash potato crap shouting wouldn't happen at Augusta, The Open, nor would it happen at Wimbledon. Tazer the thrushes." That "baba boo [crap]" caught the eye of Howard Stern, on whose show the "Baba Booey" phrase originated. (It's the nickname of his producer, Gary Dell'Abate, and fans of the show have shouted it in public for decades. Here's the most famous, during the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase.) Stern decided to educate Poulter with the proper spelling, to which Poulter had a typically snarky reply:
RT @HowardStern it's spelled Baba Booey >> How have you only just got more followers than me. I thought you was big time. Hahahaha — Ian Poulter (@IanJamesPoulter) August 11, 2013
For the record, Poulter has 1.53 million, and Stern has 1.47 million ... all of whom are probably going to be yelling "Baba Booey!" at Poulter for as long as he's on Tour.
Still, bottom line: regardless of celebrity involvement, the New York gallery at the 2013 PGA Championship was an embarrassment, the absolute worst ever at a major. When every single tee shot is accompanied by howls of listen-to-me idiots, it's time to bust out the whipping sticks. Augusta National has the right idea: you yell "Get in the hole!" there, you lose your right to ever come to the Masters again. That's a solid start.
-Follow Jay Busbee on Twitter at @jaybusbee.-
