Rory McIlroy's Limerick 'higher standard' warning for Ryder Cup fan behaviour in 2027 after 'astonishing' abuse towards wife Erica
Rory McIlroy sent out a loud and clear message to European fans as he celebrated a dramatic win in the 45th Ryder Cup in New York, saying: “What happened here will not be acceptable in Ireland in 2027.”
The Masters champion in particular but also his 11 team-mates were subjected to shocking verbal abuse from US fans during the three-day contest on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park.
In Saturday afternoon’s fourball session, McIlroy had to be held back by a member of the European support team after his wife, Erica, was almost hit by a beer can.
The next match is being played at Adare Manor in County Limerick and McIlroy, who is a certainty for a ninth appearance in the biennial bout, is determined that it returns to just banter from outside the ropes.
“Look, I don't think we should ever accept that in golf,” he replied to being asked if the behaviour of the fans on Long Island was something that could take the game in a dangerous direction.
“I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week. Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people.
“Sometimes this week we didn't see that. So ‘no, this should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup. But we will be making sure to say to our fans in Ireland in 2027 that what happened here this week is not acceptable and come and support your team.”
McIlroy was speaking after losing a tight tussle with world No 1 Scottie Scheffler as Europe just held on to record a 15-13 win after the Americans had threatened to pull off a record last-day flight after trailing by seven points heading into the singles.
“I think if I was an American, I would be annoyed that people - I didn't hear a lot of shouts for Scottie today, but I heard a lot of shouts against me. It's like, support your players. That's the thing.
“Look, 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. 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.
“Look, 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 behaviour.”
Lots of the comments aimed at McIlroy, who is very popular with regular US golf fans but was Public Enemy No 1 on this occasion, were personal about either him or his wife, who was following his matches around inside the ropes.
“It should be off-limits,” he said of family members being targeted, “but obviously it wasn't this week. Erica is fine. She's a very, very strong woman. You know, she handled everything this week with class and poise and dignity like she always has. I love her and we're going to have a good time celebrating tonight.”
Shane Lowry, who made a vital last-hole birdie to secure a half point to retain the trophy before Tyrrell Hatton then clinched the win, heaped praise on McIlroy’s wife as Europe celebrated making it back-to-back wins and becoming just the fifth team to win on US soil.
“I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy, and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing and the way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable, and kudos to her for that.”
As the rest of the team clapped and cheered to that, McIlroy was asked how satisfying it had been to turn around to someone and say “shut the f*** up”, as he did on Saturday, then hit a shot close to the hole. “Very f****** satisfying,” he declared.
McIlroy, who also played on a triumphant team at Medinah in 2012, was tearful during Europe’s team press conference as Donald, who was sitting next to him, summed up his side’s success, which was set up by a record-breaking feat of winning the first four sessions on US soil.
“We'll always remember this. We'll always go down in history,” said Donald. “We talk about all the people that came before us that paved the way for us. Now future generations will talk about this team tonight and what they did and how they were able to overcome one of the toughest environments in all of sport. We knew New York was not going to be easy. It was rough. It was brutal at times out there. It really was. It was nasty sometimes.”