Comedian Heather McMahan, who served as emcee at the Ryder Cup’s first tee, apologized for participating in a foul-mouthed chant directed at Rory McIlroy on the tournament’s second day.
“I would just like to say I immediately did not like the energy and the vibe from when that started to happen,” McMahan said on her “Absolutely Not With Heather McMahan” podcast Wednesday. “I will take full responsibility and sincerely apologize to Rory and Team Europe for saying that. It was so foolish of me. I did not start the chant. I would just like that narrative to get out there. I did not start it, but any way that I participated in that, even just saying it once, was so foolish and so silly of me.”
Video footage online showed McMahan saying “f— you, Rory” into a microphone before play began on the second day, as she attempted to amp up the crowd.
After the video circulated, McMahan stepped down as emcee Sunday, the final day of the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. Afterward, the PGA of America, which runs the competition, said McMahan “extended an apology” to McIlroy and Ryder Cup Europe.
“It went from us trying to be fun and funny and get it going to immediately was just negative and felt really toxic,” McMahan said Wednesday. “As soon as I said that, I was like I don’t want any part of this. This was just getting weird, and I don’t know how to control this crowd of 4,000 dudes at 5 o’clock in the morning, shouting crazy s–t.
“As soon as that happened, I immediately turned to my producer and said, ‘Let’s just get the DJ to play music. I don’t know what to do with this audience right now, so I’m not going to participate.’”
McIlroy, 36, was subjected to abuse from disappointed American fans as the United States struggled throughout the tournament. On Saturday, McIlroy repeatedly had to step away from his golf ball as spectators shouted obscenities and personal insults at the Irishman. At least 20 police officers were on or around the tee box at No. 10, some of them on bicycles, in an attempt to dissuade spectators.
While in the fairway on the 16th hole, fans continued to yell at McIlroy while he went through his pre-shot routine. He turned and directed an obscenity back at them, which was caught on video and quickly shared on X.
On Sunday, McIlroy called the increased police presence “insane” and said, “There was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behavior.”
(Photo: Carol Lee Rose / Getty Images for Marie Claire)
