Rory McIlroy joked that he wished the police had ‘let the dogs off their leashes’ after a fan struck his wife Erica Stoll with a flying drink during Europe’s dramatic Ryder Cup win over the USA.
The visitors survived an almighty scare to successfully retain their title in stunning fashion after the hosts staged a spirited fightback in what was a gripping climax at Bethpage Black.
Expertly captained by Luke Donald, Team Europe held an imperious seven-point lead at the end of the penultimate day and clung on to prevail 15-13 victors in front of a rowdy New York crowd.
There were wild celebrations as Shane Lowry got Europe over the line with a nerveless birdie putt on the 18th to earn a half-point in his singles match with Russell Henley.
While this year’s contest will undoubtedly be remembered for the quality of golf on show across all three days, it will also go down as one of the most controversial and bad-tempered in the competition’s history.
McIlroy and Lowry were both subjected to relentless taunts, jeers and unsavoury comments from US fans over the course of their match-up with Justin Thomas and Cameron Young – and the latter even had one heckling spectator ejected on day two.
At one stage, Ryder Cup staff member Heather McMahan got involved, leading supporters in chants of ‘f*** you, Rory!’, which later saw her step down from the position as MC and issue a formal apology to the Northern Irishman.
Such was the level of hostility and animosity, at times, Suffolk County Police, NYPD and Secret Service officers were deployed to provide extra security for Europe’s stars on the famous course.
This was after footage emerged showing an American spectator hit McIlroy’s partner, Erica, with a drink on the 17th tee while tempers flared on a highly charged Saturday.
‘I wish they had let the dogs off their leashes,’ McIlroy said when asked about the abuse he had received after Europe wrapped up the win.
‘The police out there and the amount of security presence was insane.’
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‘Look, nothing was going to happen. There wasn’t going to be physical altercation but there was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behaviour.’
The 2025 Masters champion added: ‘We shouldn’t ever accept that in golf.
‘It was a rough week for all of us. But at the same time, we shut them up by our performance and how we played.
‘I chirped back a few times because it got to me a few times, but we tried to handle everything that came our way with class and poise, and for the most part, I felt like we did that.’
McIlroy confirmed that his wife Erica was unhurt following the regrettable incident on day two and made it clear the pair would be celebrating long into the night.
‘Erica is fine. She’s a very, very strong woman,’ he explained.
‘She handled everything this week with class, poise and dignity like she always has.
‘I love her and we’re going to have a good time celebrating tonight.’
McIlroy’s team-mate and childhood friend, Lowry’ also heaped praise on Erica for somehow managing to keep her cool amid ‘astonishing’ levels of abuse.
‘I was out there for two days with Erica and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing,’ he said.
‘The way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable, and kudos to her for that.’
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