Rory McIlroy was the target of huge abuse by many fans at Bethpage Black last week, where he helped guide Europe to Ryder Cup success.
McIlroy wants golf to be held to a higher standard after the abuse he and his fellow Europeans received from some sections of the home supporters.
PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague wasn’t happy with the fan behavior at Bethpage Black, which often overshadowed the golf itself.
And it even led to some of the players getting involved, with McIlroy telling a fan to shut up at the Ryder Cup.
USA ace Justin Thomas tried to hush the fans when they took matters too far, with their behavior leaving a bad taste in the mouths of many European players.
Rory McIlroy told to take some responsibility for his behavior at the Ryder Cup
McIlroy was a particular target from the home fans, with many crowd incidents leaving the Northern Irishman very unhappy.
His retaliations have now been discussed on the Golf Channel Podcast with Rex & Lav, with Rex Hoggard saying: “Two things can be true on this front. That the behavior from the New York crowd is not acceptable. Not just at a sporting event, but in life in general, just don’t treat other people like that. I don’t care what your motivation is or where you are in life.
“However, Rory embraced the antagonist role to a wild degree. Not just in the way he was dropping f bombs back at the crowd but in the way he was pounding his chest. It makes it fun, we have seen this time and time again from Rory McIlroy, especially in these settings where it’s so one-sided and you have these home team crowds that just want to lean into it.
“But I will go back to the idea that Tommy Fleetwood did not suffer that level of slings and arrows. I’m sure he heard his share of bad things said from the crowd, but it’s because he does brilliant things on the golf course and may fist pump, but he is not engaging with the crowd. I would say the same thing about Justin Rose.
“There are plenty of players on the European team who played brilliantly, who didn’t do what Rory did. That’s not justifying what the crowd did and I don’t know what the tipping point is here.
“How much abuse should one person take before they snap? We saw that first-hand with Shane Lowry. I’m not even sure he was taking the majority of the abuse, he was just tired of hearing what they were saying to Rory.
“So there is something to be said for how far can you push a person before they push back? We saw that out of Rory. But to be fair, if Rory is going to stand up there and do what he did, then he has to take a modicum of responsibility for this.”
Sharing his take, Ryan Lavner commented: “Rory has embraced that antagonistic role before. You think back to Hazeltine in 2016, where he was bowing to the crowd and waving to the crowd. There was a playfulness to that. I think we saw that all week at Bethpage Black among the players, whether it was Bob MacIntyre, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Jon Rahm.
“It was just a I hear you, you are booing, you don’t like it but I am going to show you how good I am. There’s a bit of showmanship to that. I think Rory thrived in that atmosphere in 2016.
“Where I think this is different is that I think it’s one thing if he’s instigating it. What Rory has done over the past two years is showing support for his guys and his team. Showing confidence in himself and his team. That is what you want and expect from a team’s emotional leader.
“What he was doing at Bethpage Black, in my opinion, was simply reactionary. Here is a guy who is getting dumped on and he was pushed to breaking point. I sincerely felt for him. The vile stuff that was hurled at him and his wife and his family.
“You can stomach that in spurts. You can try and block that out for an hour or two, but over the course of three days and over the course of an entire week of practice, there is just only so much that one man can take and he occasionally snapped.
“I’m sure he regrets some of the things he did. Singling out the fans on 17, f you, f you, f you, that was a pretty regrettable moment but I still think overall, the way that he played, going 3-1-1 with so much attention and vitriol directed at him was still the second most impressive thing he has done this year outside of weathering the storm that was the second nine at Augusta National.
“I am not necessarily excusing his behavior but I think his behavior was understandable. If he was going out of his way to single out fans and shout f you at them, then I think he is instigating the behavior and antagonising a crowd that has a history of being hostile.
“Instead this was basically reactionary, which is where I think this is different and overall I’m giving him a pass on his behavior.”
American fans make big mistake with Rory McIlroy and Team Europe at Bethpage Black
Team Europe were expecting noise at Bethpage Black, but even their meticulous preparations for the issue were never going to replicate the real thing.
Moreover, while the likes of McIlroy were undoubtedly expecting personal jibes, not even he could imagine the level of abuse that would go his way.
Some fans undoubtedly crossed the line, but they made the mistake of riling McIlroy and the European players.
And as witnessed by the displays of the visiting players, that was indeed a big mistake, with Europe storming to a huge lead after two days.
Importantly, many American fans did not come close to crossing the line, and their support almost helped drive the USA to a stunning comeback on Sunday.
It ultimately wasn’t enough, but it proved that support in the right way can play a huge role at the Ryder Cup.
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