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It is no secret that the crowds at Bethpage Black this past weekend during the Ryder Cup were harsher than normal golf crowds.
Rory McIlroy got the extent of the heckling, whether it was telling him his wife was “a four,” asking about Amanda Balionis amid a previously rumored fling (with his wife mere feet away), dropping F-bombs, or constant reminders of the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst No. 2.
McIlroy called out the fans in Team Europe’s victory press conference, saying that the heckling should not be accepted as normal Ryder Cup behavior.
On the flip side, though, McIlroy was caught using numerous F-bombs toward fans, telling at least one to “shut the f— up” and even dropping multiple “f— yous” after a big putt.
Former Team USA Ryder Cup player and captain Paul Azinger noticed and felt the need to call McIlroy out.
“Rory probably turned down $500 million not to go to LIV. And he’s a European, and we see how much he wants to beat our Tour. But he stayed here, and he fought for us. He fought for the PGA Tour, so I love him for that,” Azinger began in an appearance with “Subpar.”
“But today after the press conference, after it’s over, he’s saying, ‘I think golf should be held to a higher standard of decorum.’ But in the meantime, he says ‘f-you, f-you, f-you’ in full voice for the world to see. He turns around and says to the guy, ‘Shut the f up.’ The guy in the media asks him today, ‘How did it feel, Rory, to tell the guy to shut the f up and then hit it two feet?’ And he said, ‘It felt pretty f-ing good.’ And I’m like, which is it, Rory?” Azinger continued. “Is it that golf is held to a higher standard, or are you just gonna f-you the fans and act like that’s OK?
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“I love Rory, you know that, but you can’t say that. You can’t say the fans need to behave better and then in the meantime lay them to waste. You can’t do both. You gotta be one or the other.”
In that press conference, Fox News Digital asked McIlroy about his interactions with the fans and how he chooses when to do so.
“Honestly, I’d say it’s just on impulse,” McIlroy said. “Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I’m quite an impulsive character, if you haven’t noticed. Sometimes I’ll engage and sometimes I’ll catch myself and refrain. But I don’t really choose when, and it’s just sort of sometimes I do and sometimes I don’t.”
The Europeans won the event, 15-13, largely in part to dominance on Friday and Saturday. They entered Sunday singles leading 11.5-4.5, but the Americans gave a valiant effort for a miraculous comeback.
It was not enough, though, and Europe became the first team to win a Ryder Cup on the road since they did so in 2012. It was also the first time since Europe won three straight from 2010 to 2014 that a team won back-to-back Ryder Cups.
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