Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica were subjected to abuse during the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, and the couple’s decision to relocate to the UK has been made a lot easier
Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica by the 17th green during the Sunday singles matches at the 2025 Ryder Cup(Image: (David Cannon/Getty Images))
Rory McIlroy continues to feel “very angry and hurt” following the barrage of hostility his family endured during the Ryder Cup.
European golfers faced a torrent of jeers and abuse en route to their 15-13 triumph at Bethpage Black in New York last month.
McIlroy bore the brunt of the home supporters’ vitriol, whilst his wife Erica found herself caught up in the chaos when a beer hurled from the crowd struck her hat.
According to the Daily Mail, the ordeal has significantly strengthened the couple’s resolve to relocate to the UK.
The report also claims that Erica, who is from New York, “can’t wait” to get out of her home country and be back in Wentworth, where she and her husband began developing their dream home 18 months ago. “Rory’s decision to relocate with Erica and Poppy will be made easier by the abuse American fans gave them this weekend,” a source told the publication. “He was clearly very angry and hurt.”
PGA of America president Don Rea had downplayed the crowd’s hostility, claiming the same things happened when Europe hosted the tournament two years ago in comments labelled as “offensive” by Matt Fitzpatrick. But PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague said the abuse directed at McIlroy and his team-mates “crossed the line”, and he would be sending an apology to the Northern Irishman and his wife.
“It’s unfortunate that people crossed the line last week,” Sprague said. “There’s no place for that at the Ryder Cup, no place for it in the game of golf and we are not happy with what happened last week.
“I haven’t spoken to Rory or Erica. I do plan on sending them an email with my heartfelt apologies because of what occurred.
“I can’t wait to reach out to Rory and Erica, and really the entire European team. Rory might have been a target because of how good he is, but the entire European team should not have been subjected to that. I feel badly and I plan on apologising to them.”
McIlroy claimed that some of golf’s values were not seen at Bethpage Black, saying: “I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.
“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.”
While Eddie Pepperell believes that the current Masters champion will now be pondering whether to reduce the amount he plays in the US given the amount of abuse he received over the three days. Speaking on the Chipping Forecast podcast, he said: “How does he feel about the future? Is Rory thinking ‘I can’t wait play golf in America next year – or will I play less?'”
“His wife couldn’t wait to go back to Wentworth. And she’s American. I bet she couldn’t wait to get out of there. In my mind Rory would be within his rights to say that he could do without America for a while.
“Rory is a big star and he is going to want to play more in Europe – and globally – so he doesn’t have to deal with some of that s***.”
