After winning match 1 of Saturday Four-ball, Team Europe’s Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy shared a long hug and beamed big smiles. But while the celebrations should’ve been about the victory, this time, it was about overcoming the jeers that the two had to face the entire match from the hosting crowd. In the afternoon matchups of the Ryder Cup, McIlroy and Lowry became the early targets of the New York crowd desperate to see their team win. However, instead of cheering on them, some spectators resorted to breaking the confidence of the opponents.

The first big incident happened at the fourth hole as Lowry lined up for a 15-footer, and a heckler yelled some expletives. First, the Irishman handled it himself, turning to the sound’s direction and yelling the expletives back after making the putt. But Justin Thomas knew his duty for the day as a Long Island police officer.

Although the PGA of America deployed over a dozen New York State Troopers and increased the frequency of fan behavior messaging on video boards across the golf course, things did not calm down. Amidst comments on his personal life and Lowry’s weight, the line was somewhere crossed. And that’s when the Americans had had enough. On nearly every hole, both Thomas and Cameron Young held up their arms for fans to settle down and allow their European opponents to play. But the ruckus continued. 

Sky Sports’ Justin Weir also reported, “The crowd is the big talking point really at the moment. And it is getting pretty nasty out there. It was quite nasty last night in that final match with Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy, with some fairly pointed comments, some expletive-laden abuse hurled at both of them as well. And it was boiling over this morning as well… At one point this morning, you heard Rory McIlroy to tell somebody to shut up… But at times, it is getting pretty nasty out there. Shane Lowry has just had to get a fan evicted as well.”

On the sixth hole, Lowry drained another great putt for birdie after the crowd had some colorful words, such as “teletubbies” and “Oh, oh, oh, Ozempic,” for him. At one point, Thomas and Lowry talked to the match referee to keep a check on the group. The rowdy taunts didn’t stop.

Later, a heckler said something to Lowry as he waited for McIlroy to complete his round. The Irishman, having lost his patience, almost walked towards them before his caddie stopped him. Then, he pointed the security at the person to remove them from the premises. Although the match was quite tight from then on, with the Europeans leading only by one hole, they clinched the win on the last hole. Throughout, Thomas was constantly doing what he could to temper a rowdy, late-afternoon home crowd. Probably why McIlroy hugged the American a little longer before leaving the course.

Saturday’s scenes at Bethpage Black were a source of deep embarrassment for Team USA and the PGA of America. What was meant to be a passionate home-crowd advantage instead spiraled out of control, with vulgar chants and relentless heckling throughout the day. Reports of homophobic slurs and personal insults only heightened the controversy, ultimately forcing extra security to step in and restore order.

Many U.S. players, along with captain Keegan Bradley, were left visibly uncomfortable and disappointed by the behavior. The PGA’s spectator code of conduct calls for respectful cheering, yet enforcement came far too late. Already in the morning, Foursome rounds, McIlroy had to return the favor of explicit comments to a spectator as they targeted his personal life. In Friday’s Four-ball, too, McIlroy heard something and responded with an offensive hand gesture to the unruly US crowd.

That said, the European team was likely not caught off guard by the hostility. In fact, McIlroy was all in for the commentaries, but with limits. After the math, he spoke to the reporters, saying, “I don’t mind them having a go at us. That’s to be expected. 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. In between shots, say whatever you want to me. That’s totally fine. But just give us the respect to let us hit shots, and give us the same chance that the Americans have… It was a really challenging day. I’m going to sleep well tonight.”

Lowry, who let out a primal scream after putting the 17th, said, “Look, we knew what we were going to get coming here. I think we dealt with it very well.”

Interestingly, Justin Thomas always anticipated such behavior from the New Yorkers. Only, he thought that they would turn on Team USA if they didn’t perform well. As Team Europe leads into Sunday with 11.5-4.5, the fans are not trying to build Team USA’s confidence, but pulling the visitors down. As JT said before the Ryder Cup even started, “I go back and forth. There’s obviously never in any sport a time to get personal or disrespectful, but at the same time, it is the Ryder Cup, and it’s a home game for a reason.”

Team Europe has faced similar treatment in past Ryder Cups held in the United States. This latest display, while troubling, fits into a pattern of contentious moments that have headlined over the years.

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Rory McIlroy, & Co., and previous heckling incidents

European Ryder Cup veterans often warn about the mental challenges they might face when visiting the United States. Playing away means the home team fans will try their best to rile up the players. Rory McIlroy & Sergio Garcia experienced the worst of it in 2016. Tired of the crude comments from the fans at Hazeltine, they requested the officials to get them thrown out to maintain peace on the course.

The infamous course invasion of The Battle of Brookline in 1999 is still one of the most shocking incidents in Ryder Cup history. Apart from all the heckling, fans literally destroyed the green before Jose Maria Olazabal was about to putt that could have possibly saved the tournament for Team Europe.

Had the Spanish legend sunk the ball, then the American side wouldn’t have won the event that year. Acting as the vice captain to Luke Donald this year, Olazabal must have been the one to recommend the use of VR headsets to desensitize the squad against the abuse they might face in New York.