A few days ago, a baffling rumor was making the rounds. According to a Telegraph report, things got so nasty at Bethpage, especially toward Rory McIlroy and his wife, Erica Stoll, that Europe was prepared to stop play entirely if the abuse didn’t cool down. But according to someone actually inside the ropes that weekend, that claim is anything but true.

Speaking on The Fried Egg Golf podcast, Team Europe’s vice captain Edoardo Molinari was asked directly, “The Telegraph reported that Europe was prepared to halt play if some of the crowd behavior did not stop. Is that true, and how close did we get to that point?”

Molinari shut it down in no uncertain terms, answering, “No, no, it was never discussed. It was never talked about. That’s… that’s not true at all.”

Instead of hatching plans to walk off, Molinari said Team Europe was simply trying to survive the storm without making things worse.

“The only thing we said is that we were trying, you know, me as a vice captain walking with the players, you know, all the marshals, everyone, we were just trying our best not to irritate the crowds even more,” Molinari explained. “Just trying to, you know, be humbled, be trying not to react to them, which I thought we did a great job for a day and a half…” he continued.

And there’s no doubt they did a great job. Team Europe faced some of the worst fan behavior we have seen, not just in Ryder Cup history but probably in all sporting history. Per social media and eyewitness accounts, things got very ugly. A beer was allegedly thrown at Erica. Shane Lowry, normally one of the more easygoing guys on Tour, was met with cruel jabs about his weight and his swing. Fans weren’t just rowdy; they were personal.

As Molinari pointed out, being “exposed to that for like 12 hours a day,” referring to the constant heckling, booing, and abuse Team Europe endured on all three days, ultimately took a toll on them. That heckling wears on even the steeliest pros, and they had no option but to respond. “Some players reacted, but I think that’s just being a normal human being. It would have been impossible for anyone not to react for three straight days to what was going on,” Molinari stated.

And react they did, but not with walkouts or ultimatums, just with raw, human emotion. Rory McIlroy, who was at the center of the firestorm, exchanged heated words with multiple fans throughout the weekend, clearly pushed to the edge. But like Molinari pointed out, that’s the most normal reaction expected.

While the rumor painted a dramatic picture of an imminent European exodus from Bethpage Black, the reality was more grounded and more relatable. But the drama didn’t end at Bethpage on the final day of the Ryder Cup. It followed the PGA of America all the way into the press rooms and headlines, even days later.

What exactly was the aftermath of the abuse Rory McIlroy endured?

Initially, officials seemed tone-deaf to just how ugly the fan behavior had gotten. When asked about the abusive heckling directed at Rory McIlroy and his wife, PGA of America President Don Rea shrugged it off.

“I haven’t heard some of that, and I’m sure it has happened… Rory understands,” he said. The tone was not just casual but also very dismissive, and his reaction was met with a huge uproar from fans.

But McIlroy didn’t “understand.” And he made that clear after Europe’s victory, slamming the crowd’s behavior as “abusive” and completely unacceptable with the values golf stands for.

“Golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week,” McIlroy said in a press conference after their win, calling on future hosts to uphold the sport’s traditions of respect and etiquette. He was so frustrated by what had happened that he stated, “I wish they had let the dogs off the leashes.”

In the end, after all that transpired, the PGA of America issued a formal apology to McIlroy and his wife, publicly acknowledging that the line between passion and harassment had been severely crossed. However, the incident has left a lasting impact. But the incident has left a lasting bruise on the Ryder Cup and raised real questions about what kind of crowd the sport wants to welcome going forward.