A report has revealed what caused Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry to confront the US-favouring crowd at the Ryder Cup.
Both McIlroy and Lowry were involved in altercations with American fans on day two of the tournament at Bethpage Black in New York, with Europe ending the day’s play seven points up with scores at 11 ½ - 4 ½.
Initially, McIlroy sarcastically blew kisses at the American crowd before things turned serious later on.
The Northern Irish five-time major winner even told the crowd to “shut the f**k up” as they insisted on heckling.
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Police eventually surrounded the spectators after the European refused to take a shot until the noise had subsided.
Meanwhile, fellow Team Europe member Lowry was involved in two incidents, first yelling “f**k you” to a fan before appearing to be held back as he tried to approach another member of the crowd, before the culprit was pointed out to security.
It has since emerged that a Ryder Cup host has been forced to step down from her role, having been leading vulgar chants towards the European team, in particular McIlroy.
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Somewhat surprisingly, McIlroy actually explained how he doesn’t “mind them [the fans] having a go”.
“I don’t mind them having a go at us,” McIlroy said on day two of the tournament.
“Like that’s to be expected. I mean, that’s what an away Ryder Cup is.
“Whenever they are still doing it while you are over the ball and trying to hit your shot, that’s the tough thing.
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“You know, look, in between shots, say whatever you want to me. That’s totally fine. But just give us the respect to let us hit shots, and give us the same chance that the Americans have, I guess.”
But it appears that some of the fan-player interactions crossed the line, with a report from The Telegraph suggesting that some fans aimed personal insults towards Lowry and McIlroy.
The outlet claimed that remarks about McIlroy’s wife and Lowry’s weight were at the centre of the insults, with “widespread use of the F word” as Team Europe prepared to play their shots.
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If the claims are true, the fans in question will have broken Ryder Cup course rules.
According to the Ryder Cup official website, fans are expected to “respect each other” and “cheer with class”.
The site also says that although passionate cheering is allowed that “abusive, obscene, or discriminatory language or gestures” should be avoided at all times, as well as "heckling, taunting, or intentional distraction of players".
Topics: Ryder Cup, Rory Mcilroy, Golf
Luke Davies