FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — All of Long Island seemingly lost its mind. Alcohol flowed, clearing the way for verbal abuse that became louder and more vulgar. Police were summoned. Even caddies got into it.
The ugliness on the scoreboard as it relates to the U.S. Ryder Cup team was only surpassed by the viciousness outside the ropes, an embarrassing scene that went on for hours Saturday at Bethpage Black. It turned what is supposed to be golf’s greatest event into chaos.
It undoubtedly didn’t help that the Americans—in need of a mercy rule while now trailing 11½ to 4½—were again getting spanked, leaving those riled-up warriors in the crowd with nothing else to do but hurl insults at the likes of Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry, who was so incensed at times that he wanted to go into the crowd.
At one point, McIlroy pleaded for the rules official to intercede, not because he was so much bothered by the pathetic and juvenile taunting—it’s impossible not to hear it—but because he was repeatedly interrupted while trying to make a golf swing or hit a putt.
🚨🤫 #WATCH — Rory McIlroy backs off and says he’s “not going to putt until they shut up.” 🗣️ @TrackingRory
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) September 27, 2025
Bones reports on the broadcast: “It's getting a little out of hand right now.”pic.twitter.com/6pcMObuCyX
“I don’t mind them having a go at us,” McIlroy said after the morning foursomes session, when the verbal fireworks had only begun to heat up. “Like, that’s to be expected. I mean, that’s what an away Ryder Cup is. Whenever they are still doing it while you are over the ball and trying to hit your shot, that’s the tough thing.”
For whatever reason, the Bethpage spectators who were inclined to be boorish decided to take their ire out on McIlroy and Lowry.
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry Were the Fans’ Top Target
It started on the first tee when a cheerleader attempted to lead those in the grandstand with “F--- y--, Rory,” chants. Yes, seriously. As the round went on, McIlroy was greeted by middle finger salutes, catcalls about his manhood, rude gestures. His wife, Erica, had followed for a time but left. McIlroy’s father, Gerry, was also in the crowd.
Even his caddie, Harry Diamond, could not escape, as he and McIlroy were the subject of homophobic slurs hurled in their direction, according to Golf Digest.
Lowry got it too, mostly taunts about his weight and lame Irish jokes. At one point, when he made an eagle putt at the 4th hole, he gestured wildly toward a spectator just outside the ropes. Indeed, both McIlroy and Lowry likely didn’t help matters with some of their own histrionics, undoubtedly part of the emotion of the day that is inevitable after hours upon hours of that kind of behavior.
“We knew what we were going to get coming here,” said Lowry after a 2-up victory over Justin Thomas and Cameron Young. “It was a very tough day. Being out with Rory doesn’t make it any easier. I think he’s getting the brunt of it.
“But look, I think we dealt with it very well. I said at the start of the week, I don’t know what way I’m going to deal with it but I’m going to be myself and I was myself out there today and thankfully that worked.”
There is nothing wrong with partisan cheering at the Ryder Cup. It is among the charms of the event. It's what separates it from everything else in golf. The football-like stadium feel, the raucous cheering and booing. The obvious partisanship. It’s all part of it.
But why such venom is directed at McIlroy is beyond perplexing. Sure, he’s the opponent for American interests this week. But he’s also one of the most popular players in the game. His victory earlier this year at the Masters was universally cheered, possibly by some of those who turned vulgar on Saturday.
Late in the day, Justin Rose appeared to get into an argument with Bryson DeChambeau after the latter’s caddie, Greg Bodine, apparently lingered too long in Rose’s putting line. Some words were exchanged afterward and on the way to the next tee, with Fleetwood’s caddie, Ian Finnis and European assistant Francesco Molinari part of the heated scene.
“It wasn’t just a formidable foe in the players that they were up against, it was a formidable foe in the fans that they were up against,” said Golf Channel analyst Brandel Chamblee. “It was funny: the more profane the fans got, the more insane the quality of play Europe got.”
The Last Laugh Sunday Will Be Europe’s
In the end, the Europeans are getting the last laugh. They will win in America for the first time since 2012 and just the fifth time in Ryder Cup history, all since Europe joined Great Britain & Ireland to form a relentless team of chip-on-your-shoulder golfers in 1979.
McIlroy declared two years ago after the European victory in Rome that he was determined to win a Ryder Cup here. He said earlier this year that winning the Masters to complete the career Grand Slam, capturing an Olympic medal and an away Ryder Cup were the biggest challenges left for him to accomplish.
He’s about to check of the second of those three boxes.
Europe has the biggest two-day advantage since the Ryder Cup went to 28 points, needing just 2 and a half out of 12 in Sunday singles. It’s been a dominating performance, one made more frustrating for the U.S. given that Scottie Scheffler is 0-4 and DeChambeau is 1-3. And yet the Americans put up a much stronger fight on Saturday, seemingly poised to flip matches late but unable to push over the line.
“Back-to-back days, I’ve never seen anything like it,” Chamblee said. “If you’re an American fan, if you’re an American player, you’re probably a little bit demoralized. But step back, think about it for a moment. You’re watching the greatest performance of any team since it became continental Europe [vs.] the United States, going back more than 40-some odd years.”
Perhaps with the outcome all but decided, the thousands upon thousands of spectators who have paid $750 and beyond per day can come to Bethpage on Sunday and simply enjoy the golf. What Europe is doing is impressive, and it doesn’t take away from some of the great golf played by American players throughout this year.
Some fun singles matches await. The Ryder Cup is unlikely to hang in the balance, so best to take it all in and treat it as the final round of a tournament. In the end, it’s golf, nothing more.
It would be nice if it came without the nastiness.
More Ryder Cup on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Between the Score and the Fans, Ryder Cup Saturday Saw Plenty of Ugliness.
