FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — To say some fans went over the line this week at Bethpage Black would be putting it lightly.
A dominant Saturday at the 2025 Ryder Cup from the Europeans was overshadowed from despicable fan behavior, mainly directed toward Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry in the afternoon four-ball match. Unfortunately, the golfers weren’t the only ones receiving comments from spectators. So was McIlroy’s wife, Erica.
Video emerged of an incident after McIlroy’s match when a fan knocked a beer cup out of another’s hand before it hit Erica’s hat and dropped to the ground. McIlroy immediately turned around and went after the fan.
“It should be off limits, but obviously it wasn’t this week,” McIlroy said of going after players’ families. “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.”
At least two people were ejected Saturday, and nearly 50 police officers, security and state troopers were walking with McIlroy and Lowry’s group as it went on. Even Justin Thomas and Cameron Young, their American counterparts, were doing their best to stop the verbal assault taking place.
After McIlroy’s comment about standing up for his wife after what she went through, Justin Rose chimed in.
“Can I just pick up on that, if you don’t mind, because I actually had no idea that Erica had a beer thrown at her yesterday, so fair play to Erica,” Rose said. “She didn’t bring that to the team room. We didn’t make that a big deal. That’s news to me. That says a lot about the strength of Erica and everybody on this team.”
Added Lowry: “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.”
In the end, the Europeans get the last laugh, winning a Ryder Cup on foreign soil for the first time. But when people think about the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, the fan behavior will always be a part of the story.
“There was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behavior,” McIlroy said. “But look, that’s, and look, it’s a minority of the crowd. It’s not the majority. The majority of people here are true golf fans and are respectful and let both teams have the same chance to hit the shots and play a fair contest.
“But there was a small subset of people that behaved a little bit differently than that.”
Read the full article here
