Europe’s Ryder Cup victory in New York was one of the greatest sporting accomplishments of all time.
It’s difficult to win an away Ryder Cup at the best of times, so to do so in the face of such venomous hostility from the galleries was an incredible achievement. The fans were so vile that Gary Player said the Ryder Cup should be scrapped, a comment he later retracted.
Incredible resilience was shown by Rory McIlroy in particular at Bethpage Black, who finished with a 3-1-1 record. One of the most iconic moments in Ryder Cup history came on Saturday, when McIlroy told a fan to shut up before sticking his approach to four feet.
McIlroy wasn’t the only player subject to the vitriol of the fans. Shane Lowry and Robert MacIntyre were among those targeted by the New York crowd, and Team Europe was therefore given immense credit for winning the Ryder Cup despite the abuse.
But McIlroy said the crowd at Bethpage Black might actually have helped Europe, rather than hindered them.
Rory McIlroy thinks fan abuse at Bethpage Black helped Team Europe
Team Europe was prepared for the fan abuse in New York. Captain Luke Donald made sure of that in the build-up to the tournament. For the most part, the Europeans kept their heads down and let their golf do the talking.
But one pairing, McIlroy and Lowry, leaned into the environment. They dedicated nearly every made putt to the fans after they, in particular, were targeted for four hours. Lowry escorted McIlroy like a bodyguard to shelter him from the fan abuse as best he could.
Lowry then sank the Ryder Cup retaining putt on Sunday, and there wasn’t a man who was more deserving.
Putting McIlroy and Lowry together was an inspired pairing decision from Donald, as McIlroy looked to really benefit from the presence of his best friend against the torrent of abuse. And the 2025 Masters champion admitted as much in the build-up to the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
He told BBC Sport, “Honestly, I was just so happy to have Shane beside me on Friday afternoon and Saturday afternoon. He was like the big brother I never had out there those two afternoons.
“He played incredible golf to keep us in it. And we won one and a half points out of our two matches. Him holing that putt was just a perfect way to end the week.
McIlroy said that he was flattered that the fans considered him a significant enough threat to target him with abuse. He continued, “I take it as a compliment that they targeted me. But then at the same time, it was a tough week.
“That made us better as a team. It galvanised us and it really put our arms around each other.”
Team Europe is a family, which Justin Rose perfectly summarised with his “badge and the boys” speech in the winner’s press conference. It was a group perfectly positioned to come together as a unit to protect their star man and take victory on foreign soil.
PGA of America CEO sent Rory McIlroy a message after the Ryder Cup
PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague was critical of the Ryder Cup fans after the event. He said on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex and Lav, “There is no place for it in the Ryder Cup or the game of golf. We certainly are not happy with what happened last week.”
McIlroy also confirmed that Sprague sent him an email apologizing to both McIlroy and his wife, Erica, who was struck by a tossed beer can after the Saturday action, and was also subject to the fan abuse.
“I got a lovely email from Derek Sprague apologizing,” McIlroy said.
“Erica worked with Derek at the PGA of America back in the day, so we know Derek and his wife pretty well. He couldn’t have been more gracious or apologetic, and he wrote us a lovely letter, which we really appreciated.”
An apology was certainly in order, but what’s more important for Sprague and the PGA of America is to ensure this never happens again, starting in 2029 at Hazeltine National.
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