The typically bellicose demeanor of Trump during his visit to the Ryder Cup matches presaged a higher degree of rancor among U.S. fans at the biennial event staged at Bethpage Black course this weekend.
Anti-European sentiment was extremely vociferous over the three days of matches, especially after the European team built up an insurmountable lead on Saturday. The most notable example of the rancor occurred on the sixth hole, when American fans screamed "Fuck you, Rory" and hurled other abuse at the 2025 Masters champion. The abuse directed at McIlroy included frequent shots at his relationship with Erica. "How's your divorce going?" one fan screamed, according to Golfweek. Another said: "Your ex is looking for you." While McIlroy took the brunt of the insults from the crowd, Lowry didn’t go unscathed. “Oh, oh, oh, Ozempic,” a group of fans sang by the 13th green, one of several taunts geared at Lowry’s figure.
McIlroy was forced to step away from a putt twice at the sixth hole (and was subsequently booed) before waiting a total of four minutes for the atmosphere to calm down. McIlroy did eventually take his shot from 34 feet, going on to make a par. McIlroy's wife Erica was reportedly brought to tears following a day of vitriolic abuse from the American fans. The Northern Irishman was subjected to relentless verbal abuse, including chants of "fuck you, Rory" and other insults about his love life with Erica. At one point, Erica was even seemingly hit by a drink before her husband could be seen consoling her. McIlroy said he was 'drained' at the end of the day, which ended with Team Europe holding a record-breaking 11.5-4.5 lead. And it appeared to take a toll on Erica as well, as it was reported she had 'tears streaming down her face' as they walked off the course arm-in-arm.
The New York crowd was hurling out grotesque personal insults all week, with many of the marshals around the course not just tolerating it but tacitly approving it, with a few seen grinning along with the latest moronic insult. According to a report, walking the fairways was like listening to a series of Truth Social posts being read out loud in New York accents. The abuse was cutting and personal, involving not only European players but their wives and families, all of whom were inside the ropes. The players’ wives were briefly led away from the match for a couple of holes when the atmosphere was at its most unhinged. When asked about the behavior, USA captain Keegan Bradley later refused to condemn the abuse coming from the home fans.
On Sunday afternoon, reports came in that one of the ringleaders of the vile chants aimed at Rory McIlroy had lost her job at the tournament. Heather McMahan, an American actress and comedian, reportedly stepped down from her role as first tee emcee after leading chants of "fuck you Rory" on Saturday. McMahan had been expected to warm up the crowd in leading supportive chants for Bryson DeChambeau-- but instead began to lead chants of abuse at the Irish golfer instead. According to the Sports Business Journal, the 38-year-old McMahan apologized to McIlroy and and Ryder Cup Europe and was forced to resign from her role.
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