Pro golfer Rory McIlroy discussed his controversial 2025 Ryder Cup experience, which saw a drink thrown at wife Erica Stoll.
In an X fan video from a press conference staged on Sunday, September 28, McIlroy, 36, was asked by a reporter about the impact of heckling crowds on the game of golf. The press conference came on the back of Spanish TV network Movistar posting social media footage of a drink being flung at Stoll, 38, as she and McIlroy walked through a crowd of fans. (Footage from the incident, published by the New York Post on Sunday, was recorded one day prior.)
“I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf. I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week,” the Northern Irish golfer said. “Golf … teaches you how to respect people. Sometimes this week, we didn’t see that. This should not be what is acceptable at the Ryder Cup. What happened here this week is not acceptable.”
In the video that captured the thrown drink, a visibly shocked Stoll turned to face the crowd after her hat was struck by the flying object. McIlroy was then seen walking up to the crowd before an official held an arm out to keep the athlete from moving in further.
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In addition to the hurled drink, McIlroy himself experienced heckling fans while competing at the Ryder Cup in Farmingdale, New York City, from Thursday, September 25, to Sunday. Unruly crowd behavior led to McIlroy telling fans to ‘Shut the f*** up,” amid people yelling out during his pre-shot routine.
McIlroy’s press conference discussed what he hoped to see from golfing fans in the future. “For me, you know, come and support your team. If I was an American, I would be annoyed that people … I didn’t hear a lot of shouts for Scottie [Scheffler] today,” McIlroy said. “I heard a lot of shouts against me. Support your players.”
McIlroy concluded that while the Ryder Cup “was a rough week for all of us,” he did manage to “shut them [the hecklers] up by our performance and how we played.” (McIlroy won his sixth Ryder Cup as Europe defeated the U.S. on Sunday.)
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As for the sportsman’s curse words, McIlroy acknowledged that the circumstances took a toll on him. “It got to me a few times [but] we tried to handle everything that came our way with class and poise and, for the most part, I felt like we did that,” he said during the press conference.
One of the most high-profile McIlroy hecklers included comedian Heather McMahan, who issued an apology after she allegedly encouraged golf fans to take aim at the golfer while she served as the Ryder Cup’s master of ceremonies.
“Heather has extended an apology to Rory McIlroy and Ryder Cup Europe,” a spokesperson for the PGA of America told BBC Sport in a statement issued on Sunday. “[She] has stepped down from hosting the first tee of the Ryder Cup.”
