Golf star reacts to 'mashed potato' and 'baba booey' yells from fans

Daily Record

21-06-2025

Denny McCarthy doesn't get annoyed at increasingly daft shouts from the galleries
Amused Denny McCarthy reckons golf gobs are just a bit of fun.
The increasingly ridiculous shouts of punters at tournaments, particularly in the United States, grates with a host of pundits and watching TV viewers as they gawp at the bizarre behaviour.
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Senseless shouts like 'Mashed Potato' and 'Light the Candle' are yelled out as players hit balls in events to the bemusement and irritation of most observers.
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On a tough day, you would imagine it must make some Tour pros want to throttle the offenders, yet McCarthy sees the lighter side after being asked his thoughts on the situation.
He said: 'I don't mind it. I think it's a fun part of the game. Obviously you hear the 'Baba Booey' and you hear some of these other ones that you've heard for such a long time.
"It's just fans trying to have fun out there. Maybe they've got fans listening, like: Hey, I'm with Rory [McIlroy], listen to his sixth tee shot, I'm going to yell something, stuff like that. It's just a fun part of the game.'
Shouts or no shouts, McCarthy has plenty of reasons to smile at the Travelers as he sits just two off the leaders Tommy Fleetwood, Scottie Scheffler and Justin Thomas at the halfway mark.
He survived the wind woe on day two and said: 'It felt nice to shoot a good score. I haven't played all that great lately, but I've put a lot of work in this week and started to see some good form the last few days.
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'I'm just proud of how I battled. It was really tricky, would blow 25 one minute and then would drop down to 15, go to five and then kick back up.
"When it's really gusty like that and changing directions like that, it's hard to get the yardages right. I do enjoy these conditions. My weather app said 14, 15, 16 miles an hour.
"It's a liar because it was blowing like 25 to 30 on the range it felt like this morning. Umbrellas were kind of blowing around. People were kind of just laughing hitting balls.
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'It's felt better the last few days. I feel like I can still improve on it. Just keep trying to stack days is important for me right now. It is the simple kind of fundamental stuff for me.
"I try and keep the game really simple. When I start worrying too much about what the club is doing is typically when I'm not playing my best.
"It's like I work on the stuff on the range and then it's like I get on the course and I'm still doing the same stuff. I might have that small key in my head, but it becomes almost like a different sport when you get on the range.
"You've got to forget what you're doing on the range and then just go out, picture, play, and hope that some of those feels that you've been working on on the range have seeped into your on-course stuff.'