Farmingdale (United States) (AFP) – Rory McIlroy was not shy about his dislike for Ryder Cup hecklers after a week that included taunts, insults, and a beer thrown at his wife, Erica. The ugly situation got so bad that extra police with dogs walked alongside McIlroy over the weekend as he helped Europe beat the United States 15-13 at Bethpage Black in the biennial team golf showdown.
“I wish they had of let the dogs off the leashes,” McIlroy joked on Sunday following Europe’s nail-biting victory. Raucous fans created an intense and unsafe atmosphere, with over-the-top insults aimed at players and families, with five-time major winner McIlroy the top target.
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“The police out there and the amount of security presence was insane,” McIlroy said. “Nothing was going to happen. There wasn’t going to be a physical altercation or anything like that. But there was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behavior. It should be off-limits, but obviously, it wasn’t this week.”
Irishman Shane Lowry, who sank the cup-clinching putt for Europe, spent two days watching his pal McIlroy and his wife verbally abused by hecklers. “The amount of abuse she received was astonishing,” Lowry said. “The way she was out there supporting her husband and her team was unbelievable.”
Second-ranked McIlroy, who won the Masters in April to complete a career Grand Slam, said his wife had handled the abuse with “class, poise, and dignity.” “We’re going to have a good time celebrating,” he added. Europe captain Luke Donald had already prepared his players for the intense emotions of a New York crowd.
“We knew New York wasn’t going to be easy,” Donald said. “It was rough. It was brutal at times out there. It really was. It was nasty sometimes.” McIlroy called for unruly behavior that crossed the line to be banished from the sport, even in as emotional a week as the Ryder Cup.
“I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf. I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week,” said McIlroy. “Golf has the ability to unite people… It teaches you how to respect people. Sometimes this week we didn’t see that. This should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup.”
He called for support for beloved players, not anger directed at rivals. “I didn’t hear a lot of shouts for Scottie (Scheffler), but I heard a lot of shouts against me,” McIlroy said. “It was a rough week for all of us. But at the same time, we shut them up by our performance and how we played.”
– ‘It got to me’ –
McIlroy directed an obscene gesture as well as shouted back at times. “I chirped back a few times because it got to me a few times, but we tried to handle everything that came our way with class and poise, and for the most part, I felt like we did that,” McIlroy said.
US captain Keegan Bradley said he was “nervous about today” after his team’s record-worst pairs result. “I don’t think anyone’s safety was necessarily in danger,” US star Justin Thomas said. “Words hurt, too. There were definitely some nasty things said, but I don’t think anybody was necessarily fearing for their life.”
Even Thomas and Cam Young sympathized. “Cam and I said it to Shane and Rory that we felt for them. It was unfortunate,” Thomas said. McIlroy said Europe will make sure that 2027 Ryder Cup spectators in Ireland know “what happened here this week is not acceptable.” Added Lowry: “It will be a little bit nicer than playing here.”
© 2024 AFP
