Footage has emerged of Rory McIlroy getting a Ryder Cup fan ejected after using a disgusting homophobic slur.
Europe clinched a sensational victory over the USA on Sunday after fending off a spirited comeback from the hosts on the final day of action at Bethpage Black.
European players were mercilessly jeered by American fans throughout the tournament with McIlroy and Shane Lowry targeted with the worst of it, becoming the subjects of vile chants and insults.
McIlroy told the crowd to ‘shut the f**k up’ as he prepared his shot on the 16th on the final day of action having earlier refused to take a put due to the unpleasant taunts coming from nearby spectators.
Video footage has now surfaced of the world no2 calling out a fan and demanding his removal from the course.
McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll were seen walking by in seemingly relatively good spirits until a fan behind the ropes shouted ‘Rory! Hey you little f****t’.
McIlroy immediately stopped and marched towards the fan, pointing in his direction as he called for security to ‘throw him out’.
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Lowry, who partnered McIlroy in fourballs action, also had a spectator removed with the insults directed at the pair said to have referenced the golfers’ wives and family with Lowry ‘bombarded with weight jokes’.
In his column for the Irish Times, golf correspondent described the atmosphere as a ‘new low’ with one of the remarks aimed at McIlroy and Lowry ‘throw out the Irish trash’.
American comedian Heather McMahan was forced to step down from her role as Ryder Cup MC for leading chants of ‘f**k you Rory’, later extending a formal apology to McIlroy and the European team.
On a weekend where US fans were repeatedly accused of crossing the line, McIlroy’s wife Stoll appeared to have a drink thrown at her with US golf legend and former team captain Tom Watson apologising for the behaviour of the home crowd.
‘I’d like to congratulate Europe on their victory,’ Watson wrote on X.
‘Your team play the first few days was sensational. More importantly, I’d like to apologise for the rude and mean-spirited behaviour from our American crowd at Bethpage. As a former player, captain and as an American I am ashamed of what happened.’
Watson’s comments were in stark contrast to those of USA captain Keegan Bradley, who refused to condemn American fans.
‘I thought the fans were passionate,’ said Bradley. ‘I mean, their home team is getting beat bad. They are passionate fans. I wasn’t at Rome but I heard a lot of stories that Rome was pretty violent as well.
‘But the fans of New York from what I have seen have been pretty good. You’re always going to have a few people that cross the line and that’s unfortunate. I was happy to see our players trying to quieten down some people that were like that.’