Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica were relentlessly targeted by sections of the crowd at Bethpage during Europe’s historic victory over the United States at the Ryder Cup
Rory McIlroy says he received an official apology after he and his wife Erica were subjected to abuse during the Ryder Cup. McIlroy was relentlessly targeted by sections of the home crowd in New York during Europe’s historic victory in September.
Rowdy US supporters bombarded the Northern Irishman with abuse over the three days while Erica was bit by a beer thrown by a fan. After the competition was over, McIlroy said the unsavoury scenes had “overshadowed” Europe’s 15-13 win at Bethpage.
He memorably said that “golf should be held to a higher standard”, while PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague promised to apologise for the personal heckling, which aimed to distract him on the course. Speaking ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, McIlroy revealed the outcome of that promise.
“I got a lovely email from Derek Sprague apologising,” McIlroy told BBC Sport. “Erica worked with Derek at the PGA of America back in the day so we know Derek and his wife pretty well. He couldn’t have been more gracious or apologetic and he wrote us a lovely letter, which we really appreciated.”
Speaking to the Golf Channel back in October, Sprague said: “It’s unfortunate that people crossed the line last week. There’s no place for that in the Ryder Cup or the game of golf. I heard Rory say it, we’re better than that in golf.
“That’s one thing our game has always portrayed when you compare us to other sports is that golf is a great game and people enjoy the game because of the values that golf has.”
McIlroy bore the brunt of the abuse during the Ryder Cup and at one point refused to play a shot until his concentration was respected. “I take it as a compliment that they targeted me,” he said.
“But then at the same time, it was a tough week. That made us better as a team. It galvanised us and it really put our arms around each other.”
