The 2025 Ryder Cup came to an end a few hours ago, but not with the kind of legacy anyone hoped for. Sure, Team Europe lifted the trophy in dramatic style, winning the cup on American soil for the first time since 2012. But what truly stole the headlines wasn’t golf. It was the crowd. And let’s not sugarcoat it. Bethpage Black hosted a full-blown three-day verbal brawl that turned into a battleground of boos, slurs, and rowdy fans.

The so-called ‘boisterous New York crowd’ didn’t just heckle, but they heckled with spite. From mid-swing taunts to personal insults about players’ families, what was meant to be golf’s grandest spectacle spiraled into a nasty circus. This wasn’t just passionate fandom gone slightly overboard. This was something darker, louder, and for many, undeniably disgraceful. So much so that we had to ask our readers if the fans at Bethpage were the worst in the event’s history. And based on what unfolded, and what our readers had to say, the results of our poll wouldn’t surprise anyone.

Our Readers Speak Out — Should Hecklers Face a Ban?

A recent poll conducted on our Essentially Sports’ flagship golf newsletter, Essentially Golf, asked readers.

“Do You Think These Hecklers Should Face a Lifetime Ban From Ryder Cup?” and to nobody’s surprise, 88.05% of respondents voted “Yes.”

That’s not just a majority, but a damning indictment of how far things spiraled out of control at Bethpage. And the comments? Equally unforgiving.

“As an American, I was ashamed and embarrassed of the crowd’s ignorant behavior. Yes, Ryder Cups are loud, but watch a European home game and you’ll see the difference between class and ignorance,” one fan commented, echoing the sentiments of many who felt the event had crossed all boundaries.

Another long-time fan chimed in —  “Fan experience at the Ryder Cup this year was AWFUL. I’ve attended Masters, U.S. Opens, Walker Cups—this was unlike anything I’ve ever experienced. I will never go to another PGA of America event again.”

Their frustrations weren’t just baseless complaints. They were responding to scenes like Rory McIlroy being heckled relentlessly on the tee from Day 1, with fans chanting “F**k you, Rory!”.

During his match, McIlroy was bombarded with chants, taunts, and even personal jabs involving his wife and family.

“They crossed the line between rooting for your player and being classless, vulgar, and targeting individual players and their wives and family,” another fan commented on our poll, a sentiment that sadly reflected the reality on the ground.

One fan, in a truly ugly moment, caused a drink to spill on McIlroy’s wife, Erica Stoll, just moments after Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry’s Saturday victory in the fourballs session. While it wasn’t directly thrown at her, video footage shows it was no accident either. The abuse wasn’t limited to drunken chants; it was deeply personal. One Irish fan told CNN Sports, “They kept talking about his wife, and I thought that was disrespectful. That’s apparently what New York does.”

Even McIlroy’s partner, Shane Lowry, wasn’t spared. Fans mocked his weight throughout Saturday’s four-ball session. It was so bad that security had to be increased mid-match and emergency messages about “spectator etiquette” flashed on the video boards.

For many fans watching around the world, the tipping point had clearly been reached. The level of disrespect and hostility wasn’t just disappointing; it was downright shameful. One furious fan summed it up perfectly.

“Those hecklers should face a lifetime ban from the Ryder Cup. That behavior is embarrassing to all the players and to the host country as well.” Echoing this sentiment, another fan urged, “People who heckle should get lifetime bans at all venues.”

The call wasn’t just for a slap on the wrist or a temporary removal—it was a demand for zero tolerance, a clear message that such conduct has no place not only at the Ryder Cup but anywhere golf is played.

There was also another poll conducted, which asked our readers, “Do You Think American Players Should Have Done More to Calm the Crowd?” and the results here, too, were nearly 89% of them voting “Yes.”

One comment stood out the most —“Very poor behavior on part of the American team not to try and raise their hands for the crowd to quiet.” Several others echoed in with similar sentiments, stating comments like, “ashamed that the American players allowed this,” and that “they need to do a lot more.” 

But many also praised one player, Justin Thomas, for stepping up to the crowd. After a tense moment at the fourth hole when Shane Lowry faced harsh heckling, Thomas took on the role of a peacemaker, repeatedly raising his arms to calm the crowd throughout the match. Despite his efforts and the presence of state troopers, the noise and abuse persisted, but Thomas’s sportsmanship didn’t go unnoticed — as fans noted, “Thomas was the only one who showed sportsmanship,” and that he tried to calm the crowd down but with “little success.” 

But based on our polls and reactions from many, Bethpage may have just hosted the most disgraceful Ryder Cup crowd in history.

Why the 2025 Ryder Cup May Go Down as One of the Most Disgraceful Events in Sporting History

Let’s put things in context. Ryder Cups have never observed the etiquette like we do in other events, and yes, there have been infamous moments before. Like in 2016 at Hazeltine National Golf Club in Minnesota, where one fan screamed, “S*ck a d—, Rory!” or the madness of the 1999 Ryder Cup at Brookline, when fans stormed the green before José María Olazábal even had a chance to putt.

Go further back to 1991 at Kiawah Island. Fans prank-called European players at their hotel all night. That’s low. While the common denominator here is that these events were hosted on American soil, Bethpage has managed to outdo them all. This wasn’t just isolated moments of poor behavior. It was a sustained, three-day barrage of personal insults and targeted abuse.

To be fair, America’s sports culture has always embraced rowdiness. But even compared to other sports, this crossed the line.

Usually, NFL games see large and loud crowds exceeding 70,000 people in a stadium. And they are known for their intensity —just ask anyone who’s braved a night game when the Philadelphia Eagles are playing at home. Local fans boo their own team, too. But even there, unruly fans are often ejected or arrested.

Tennis crowds at the US Open have also often drawn criticism for being loud and disrespectful, even this year. “They are obnoxious. They are inconsiderate,” one fan quipped. But chair umpires and officials act quickly. At Bethpage, the abuse kept going despite extra security, public warnings, and even players themselves begging for calm. The Ryder Cup was supposed to be golf’s greatest rivalry—intense, yes, but respectful. Instead, it became a weekend-long reminder that passion, when unchecked, can turn poisonous.

So, was this the worst Ryder Cup ever? If you judge by personal attacks, sheer volume of abuse, and physical altercations—yes, 2025 was the most disgraceful Ryder Cup crowd in history.

We can hardly recall any famous incidents in sporting history that were as bad as what we all witnessed at Bethpage Black. The golf was world-class, the European performance heroic—but all of it was overshadowed by a crowd that turned celebration into spectacle, and rivalry into ridicule.

For many fans, the memory of Bethpage won’t be McIlroy’s fist pumps or Lowry’s grit. It’ll be the raucous chants and the abuse players had to face. And the worst part? The players had to play through it. Amid all the chaos, Team Europe kept their composure, won their match, and even managed a smile. That’s elite mental strength. But should they have had to endure it in the first place? Definitely not.