Rory McIlroy refused to play a shot at the Ryder Cup after the American crowd hurled repeated abusive insults in his direction.
The Northern Irishman was lining up for a putt during his and Shane Lowry’s Saturday afternoon fourballs victory over Justin Thomas and Cameron Young when tensions boiled over.
He stepped away from his shot twice at the sixth hole – and was subsequently booed – before waiting a total of four minutes for the atmosphere to calm down.
The atmosphere at Bethpage Black has been increasingly toxic amid Team Europe’s domination, with Luke Donald’s side going into the final day with a record-breaking 11.5-4.5 lead. They only require three more points to secure a win and it looks like it could be a landslide.
McIlroy did eventually take his shot from 34 feet, going on to make a par, and at least some of his vile detractors got their comeuppance.
Multiple spectators were removed from the event while captain Donald has accused the crowd of ‘crossing the line’.
New footage has emerged of the throng practicing their classless ‘f*** you, Rory’ chant earlier in the day. A rendition of that was led by the MC on the first tee and McIlroy blew kisses back at them.
His wife, Erica Stoll, was also dragged into the verbal mudslings as the crowd branded her a ‘w****’.
Not only that, but McIlroy was also accused of ‘playing like a wet fart’ and of being a choker.
And it all got too much for the 36-year-old at one point. Earlier in the day, before his refusal to play, he snapped back and told spectators to ‘shut the f*** up’ during his foursomes victory alongside Tommy Fleetwood.
He had been interrupted during his swing on the 16th, but he responded in perfect fashion by firing an excellent shot onto the green for Fleetwood to finish the job with a putt.
The duo secured 3&2 win to see off Collin Morikawa and Harris English for a second successive day and maintain their perfect Ryder Cup record together, having won both foursomes games during Team Europe’s 2023 success also.
Throughout the day, the security presence was ramped up in a bid to bring the baying brood under control.
Supporters were also reminded on the big screens to uphold a certain standard of behaviour.
Asked about the crowd’s hostility, McIlroy said: ‘I don’t mind them having a go at us, that’s to be expected. “That’s what an away Ryder Cup is. Whenever they are still doing it while you are over the ball and trying to hit your shot, that’s the tough thing.
‘In between shots, say whatever you want to me. That’s totally fine.
‘But just give us the respect to let us hit shots and give us the same chance that the Americans have.
‘You do have to focus on the task at hand.
‘I think in the team format, foursomes and fourballs you can stick together with your partner which makes it easier.’
Donald added: ‘It was loud, it was raucous.
‘What I consider crossing the line is personal insults and making sounds when they are trying to hit on their backswings or very close to when they are trying to go into their routines. That did happen a little bit.’
Indeed, later on, Ryder Cup emcee Heather McMahan has reportedly stepped away from her role, as per the Sports Business Journal, and issued an apology to McIlroy.
