Chaos

I’m not a golf person, and the only reason why I knew that the Ryder Cup was happening in recent days was because tennis people were talking about it! The Ryder Cup is the tournament where European pro-golfers are on the same team, facing off against a team of American pro-golfers. This year’s Ryder Cup was staged in America. Team Europe won, but they had one of the worst experiences of their lives because they had to deal with the most toxic American crowd in golf history. The Americans were especially nasty to Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica. Americans even threw a beer at Erica. Disgusting.

After a weekend of absolute bedlam at Bethpage, the dust is settling on an extraordinary Ryder Cup competition. The headline is that Europe pulled off a stunning victory on foreign soil, a win that was at times breathtaking and breathless, exhilarating and excruciating in equal measure. The American team was in danger of complete humiliation, but on Sunday the US golfers managed to recover and almost pulled off what would have been arguably the greatest comeback in sports.

There was so much to celebrate and yet, once all the champagne spray has dried, there is still a bitter taste in the mouth. Many of the European players were subjected to dreadful abuse from the galleries, unprintable vulgarities and some deeply personal insults. Rory McIlroy was the lightning rod for the invective, and so was his wife.

“I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy, and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing,” said Irishman Shane Lowry. “And the way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable.”

The situation around McIlroy’s group on Saturday afternoon became so intense that police officers with dogs were brought onto the course for protection.

“I wish they had let the dogs off the leashes,” quipped McIlroy, who admitted that he engaged with the fans on the occasions when it all became too much. A viral video from the 18th hole on Saturday morning shows McIlroy turning to the fans and telling them to “Shut the f**k up!” He then composed himself and dispatched his approach to within two feet of the pin. It was “very f**king satisfying,” he joked.

McIlroy made light of it in his team’s moment of glory, but he won’t gloss over the abuse that he and his wife were subjected to; a beer was even thrown at her in the Saturday four-balls.

“The police out there and the amount of security presence was insane,” he said. “Nothing was going to happen, there wasn’t going to be a physical altercation, but there was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive.”

McIlroy was at pains to state that it was only a minority of the fans who were out of line, but their behavior certainly left a mark on what was otherwise a wonderful sporting occasion.

“It should be off-limits,” he said, “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.”

Ryder Cups are known to be rowdy, and the home team counts on the support of their fans. Questions will now be asked about whether the host team played a role in fomenting the aggression. On the eve of the tournament, Collin Morikawa called for “chaos” and the event’s master of ceremonies, Heather McMahan, stepped down on Sunday after she had led the fans in a chant of “f**k you Rory” with a live microphone.

[From CNN]

Rightly or wrongly, I’ve always had the sense that the American golf community is overwhelmingly Republican. This Ryder Cup situation backs up that belief – this is the Trumpification of American culture in real time. The pettiness and nastiness, the coarsening of culture. Where Americans think it’s perfectly acceptable to throw a beer at a golfer’s wife and scream obscenities at European golfers. It’s not “heckling” and it’s not a matter of the Europeans needing a thicker skin. The American fans were absolutely in the wrong here.

Yelling at players like this is absolutely bush league.

Completely unacceptable behavior.

Throw out every idiot that’s doing this.

pic.twitter.com/02hIoKHm9J

— Lou Stagner (Golf Stat Pro) (@LouStagner) September 27, 2025

Apparently someone in the crowd threw a drink at Rory & his wife after the match today.

In the video Rory appears to be wiping her hat off & asking if she’s okay, then moves further away from the USA fans.

Another tough look for the fans today if true. pic.twitter.com/GphltmL6Zr

— Fore Play (@ForePlayPod) September 28, 2025

“What happened here this week is not acceptable.”

Rory McIlroy speaks on the fans at Bethpage Black. pic.twitter.com/gMd7OzIUQ4

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) September 29, 2025

Team Europe won the Rider Cup and decided to directly mock Donald Trump🤡🤣 pic.twitter.com/yzFb4hozVR

— Mario (@PawlowskiMario) September 29, 2025

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.