Argentinian amateur Mateo Pulcini celebrated his birdie on the 18th hole at Royal Birkdale by cupping his ears to the crowd. He sunk a 40-foot putt on the final hole to finish an opening round of five-over at the Open Championship in Southport. Despite his celebration, he received huge cheers from the grandstand.
Pulcini was the only Argentinian player in the field at Royal Birkdale. A television commentator noted that the crowd had not worked out where he was from, although one spectator shouted "Vamos!".
His gesture emulated Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez, who scored Argentina's equaliser after 85 minutes against England in Atlanta on Wednesday night. Fernandez ran in front of England fans, cupped his hands behind his ears, stuck out his tongue, and blew a kiss.
The Birkdale crowd took Pulcini's celebration in good spirits, with no booing or jeering on the 18th hole. The R&A had previously warned fans that bad behaviour would lead to ejection from the tournament. However, Pulcini did receive a couple of boos on the first tee when the starter read out his name and country.
Pulcini said he expected those initial boos and enjoyed the reaction. "I was expecting a few boos on the 1st tee, and they came, some of them," he said. "There were almost none, but I love that, I really don't mind. It's part of the fun."
Reaction to the Celebration
Pulcini acknowledged that his score of five-over was disappointing, but said the final putt improved his day. "The people were being great. They were cheering for me as well," he said. "My score wasn't good at all. I wasn't having a good day, but this on 18 make it a little bit better."
He explained that he did not intend to mock England following their World Cup semi-final defeat. "I didn't want to do anything like trying to, what's the word, making fun of like the match that you guys lost because the tournament here has been unbelievable, and that celebration came from a 40-foot putt," Pulcini said. "I was pretty excited, and that came to my mind, and I did it."
When asked whether his putt or Argentina's victory felt better, Pulcini chose the football match. "Enzo and Lautauro's goals, for sure," said Pulcini, who played with the Argentina flag on his cap, shoes, and driver cover. "Today wasn't being the best, so I'll take those two goals!"
Football Prediction and Watching the Match
Pulcini revealed that he had predicted the scoreline to fellow golfer Matt Wallace before the game. "I told Matt Wallace that we were winning 2-1. I need to cross paths with him. I was right," he said.
Pulcini watched Argentina's victory on Wednesday night while having an asado, an Argentinian barbecue. "I didn't miss a single second of it," he said. "It was a great game. At the beginning it was like England was having a good game."
He noted how the match changed after England scored first. "And then once England made the goal, they bucked up, like Argentina was doing the same thing last match," Pulcini said. "They scored goal, and then they started defending, but you cannot defend against Messi."
Falklands Banner Controversy
Following full-time, Argentina players held up a banner reading "Las Malvinas son Argentinas" in reference to the Falklands War. Pulcini declined to discuss the incident.
"I saw it but I don't want to talk politics, just golf and football," Pulcini said. "I wasn't even going to put football with golf, but then I made a 40-footer so I was excited."