Ryder Cup 2025: Rory McIlroy condemns "unacceptable" fan behavior

The European team's emotional victory at the 2025 Ryder Cup in Bethpage Black, New York, will go down in the history books. But the 15-13 triumph was overshadowed by an unprecedented level of aggressive spectator abuse that got to the heart of golf. After the nerve-wracking competition, superstar Rory McIlroy spoke out and drew a harsh balance about the fan behavior, which he branded "unacceptable".

The hunt for McIlroy at the 2025 Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy was the declared main target of the US home crowd. The verbal hostility was not just directed at his performance, but aimed at personal attacks. The cry of "F-k you Rory" became the sad soundtrack of the weekend. However, the low point was reached when McIlroy's wife, Erica, was also targeted. On Saturday night, a drink was thrown in her direction, grazing her. Teammate Shane Lowry, who accompanied the pair up close, was shocked at the extent: "The amount of abuse she received was astonishing," said Lowry.

The mental strain on the Europeans was immense, but McIlroy praised his wife's composure. Erica McIlroy had not discussed the incident in the team room. An attitude that Justin Rose commented on approvingly: "I actually had no idea that a beer was thrown at Erica yesterday... That says a lot about the strength of Erica and everyone on this team." McIlroy himself made it clear that family should be an absolute no-go zone: "It should be taboo, but obviously it wasn't this week." Nevertheless, he emphasized the class of his wife: "She handled everything this week with class, composure and dignity, as she always has."

"Golf should have a higher standard"

After the win, McIlroy had strong words for the degeneration of the fan culture at Bethpage Black. For him, what happened in New York was a betrayal of the essence of golf: "I don't think we should ever accept that in golf. I think golf should have a higher standard than what was seen out there this week." He reminded the audience what golf actually stands for: "Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you to play by the rules. It teaches you to respect people. Sometimes we haven't seen that this week."

The Northern Irishman also criticized the negative focus of American fans. Instead of supporting their own players, they focused on his offense: "I think if I was an American, I'd be annoyed that people - I didn't hear a lot of shouts for Scottie [Scheffler] today, but I heard a lot of shouts against me. It's like, support your players. That's the thing."

The counterattack: Performance and a clear message

The hostile atmosphere also took its toll on McIlroy. By his own account, he "fired back a few times" on the course. At one point, the situation escalated when he replied to a bully: "Shut the f*** up!" He then nailed his approach a good meter from the flag. A reaction he described afterwards as "very f-ingsatisfying".

Although security was heightened with extra staff and police with dogs, McIlroy stressed that he was not concerned with physical danger, but the quality of the behavior: "There was a lot of unacceptable language and offensive behavior." In the end, the European team delivered the best response on the course. McIlroy summed up the team's successful strategy: "It's been a tough week for all of us. But at the same time, we silenced them with our performance and our play."

Looking ahead to the next Ryder Cup in Ireland in 2027, McIlroy announced that the European fans will receive a clear message to avoid a repeat: "We will make sure that our fans in Ireland ... know that what happened here this week is not acceptable."