The moment that Rory McIlroy had a fan ejected from the Ryder Cup after a disgusting slur has gone viral.
McIlroy and Team Europe battled through a weekend of abuse from the New York crowds to claim a thrilling Ryder Cup victory. Despite entering the final day with a commanding seven-point lead, Luke Donald's men were left sweating by an impressive American fightback, before they got over the line.
The atmosphere was hostile from the stage at Bethpage Black, with the first-tee announcer Heather McMahan encouraging shouts of "f**k you Rory."
The PGA of America later confirmed that she had apologised and stepped down from her role. It was not just McIlroy who had to take on the hostile crowds, with his wife Erica struck by a beer thrown from the crowd.
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In one clip that went viral on social media, the Northern Irishman can be seen demanding a fan be thrown out for abusing him.
The heckler can be heard saying: "Rory, hey, ya little f****t."
McIlroy immediately stopped and turned round, before he pointed at the individual and called security over.
"Throw him out," he said.
The fan replied: "For what?"
McIlroy responded: "For calling me a f****t."
The Bethpage Black crowd was hostile throughout the weekend to all of the Europeans. On Saturday afternoon, tensions boiled over during the fourballs session, when McIlroy was playing with Shane Lowry.
Both had endured abuse and when Lowry made an eagle putt to give Europe the lead, he reacted by shouting 'f**k you' at the hecklers. Later, McIlroy refused to play his shot until the crowd stopped jeering, showing how disruptive it became.
Despite the hostility, Team Europe thrived to record a famous Ryder Cup triumph. After the victory, McIlroy criticised the 'unacceptable' behaviour of fans and called for better when the Ryder Cup returns in Europe in 2027.
He said: “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. Golf has the ability to unite people.
"Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people.
"Sometimes this week we didn’t see that. So no, this should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup.
"We will be making sure to say to our fans in Ireland in 2027 that what happened here this week is not acceptable."
Topics: Golf, Rory Mcilroy, Ryder Cup
James Taylor