Rory stepped in it, big time, during his presser
PublishedSeptember 30, 2025 1:46 PM EDT•UpdatedSeptember 30, 2025 1:46 PM EDT
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Nobody on the property at Bethpage Black during the playing of the 2025 Ryder Cup took more heat and scrutiny from fans than Rory McIlroy. That tends to be the case when you’re the No. 2 player in the world playing on American soil, specifically in New York, but some of the heckling from fans undoubtedly crossed the line.
McIlroy was called the f-word by a fan — and not the f-word that ends in ‘er’ — was forced to back off of his shots countless times due to untimely shouts from the gallery, and his wife even took a beer to the hat at one point.
READ: Blame The PGA Of America For The U.S. Ryder Cup Loss Before Pointing A Finger At Keegan Bradley
After Team Europe secured its 15-13 victory over the U.S., McIlroy was asked about some of the behavior by the fans during the event. He said that it wasn’t acceptable and explained that golf should be held to a higher standard.
“Look, 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,” McIlroy said. “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. But you know, we will be making sure to say to our fans in Ireland in 2027 that what happened here this week is not acceptable, and for me, it’s — you know, come and support your home team. Come and support your team.”
McIlroy’s sentiments would have been all well and fine if he had handled himself to those ‘higher standards’ he preached about in the press room, but he didn’t.
On the final hole of his Saturday morning foursomes match, McIlroy stepped off his ball and turned to the crowd, telling them to “shut the fu-k up.”
In his four-ball match later that afternoon, McIlroy pointed to fans in the crowd while shouting “fu-k you, fu-k you, fu-k you.”
Nobody should have a problem with McIlroy chirping back at fans at the Ryder Cup. It’s part of what makes the event so entertaining, but there is a significant difference between chirping and shouting “fu-k you” while pointing out random people in the crowd.
With that being said, everyone with a functioning brain should take exception to McIlroy jumping on his generationally-tall high horse, riding into the media center, and telling the entire world that the behavior we saw from the fans was unacceptable after his actions during the week. It’s one of the most astonishingly hypocritical moves ever seen in sports.
If the Ryder Cup were being played in Europe and Bryson DeChambeau started pointing out people in the crowd shouting “fu-k you,” the authorities would likely arrest him, and the event would be suspended for the rest of the day.
