Rory McIlroy and other European teams have overcome the hostility of many unruly fans at the 2025 Ryder Cup to defeat the US in defeat. The biased results at Bethpage Black over the weekend set an already raucous crowd segment on the line, with former US Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson opposed the action.
Destructive and humiliated by a small number of fans prompted the event to increase police presence and security details as the weekend progressed.
“I want to congratulate @rydercupeurope on their victory,” Watson told social media. “Your team was sensational for the first few days. More importantly, I would like to apologise for the rude and mean behavior from the American crowd at Beth Page. As a former player, captain and an American, I am ashamed of what happened.”
2025 Ryder Cup: Everything I said about verbal abuse from Beth Page fans after the victory in Europe
Robbie Kalland
McIlroy made the exception to the nature and timing of the jeers. He saw him give the crowd a clear rough gesture on Friday, and on Saturday he cursed the crowd before rejecting a rough shot, and rejecting putts until the fans were quiet during the backswing. The PA announcer resigned from her role after leading a vulgar chant directed at McIlroy.
McIlroy’s wife, Erica, was also a target for unpleasant behavior. Fans after Saturday’s round threw a drink to McIlroy, who had come into contact with the hat.
“I don’t think we should accept that in golf. I think golf should be kept to a higher standard this week than what we saw there,” McIlroy said after Europe finished the victory. “Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play with the rules. It teaches you how to respect people.
“I didn’t see it sometimes this week, so this shouldn’t be acceptable in the Ryder Cup. But I’ll make sure I’m telling Irish fans in 2027 that I can’t accept what happened this week.”
Europe won the Ryder Cup for the second consecutive time, becoming its first away team since it was held in Medina in 2012. The Europeans dominated the path to an early lead with foursome and four-ball command results on Friday, and did not shake on Saturday. The US rallied with a victory of 8½-3½ sessions on Sunday, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the holes the Americans dug in their first two days.
