“One of the wonderful things about PGA Tour events … is a lot of kids come out to watch. If you’ve got guys that are shouting obscenities and swear words and stuff and there’s kids around, I think that isn’t cool.” Rory McIlroy shared in an interview about profanity coming from spectators. But now, when he is caught with the same and still expects the game to have better decorum, he has invited a veteran to share his thoughts.

During the SubPar podcast, Azinger sat down with Drew Stoltz and discussed the 2025 Ryder Cup. Initially, the veteran praised McIlroy for handling the pressure; however, he later turned down McIlroy’s opinion regarding the press conference remark. Azinger said, “In the press conference after it’s over, he’s saying, ‘I think golf should be held to a higher standard of decorum.’ Isn’t that what he said? But in the meantime, he’s going, he says, ‘f you, f you, f you.’ In full voice for the world to see.” 

In the first two days, Rory McIlroy was seen flipping the bird and then saying, “Shut the f*** up,” to the fans who were disturbing him with personal comments. The golfer received comments like, “How’s your divorce going?” and “Your ex is looking for you,” coming from the fans. The reaction from the golfer was justified, as many pros also supported him. But this is not the first time McIlroy has lost his calm.

Back in the 2023 Ryder Cup, he had an anger outburst in the parking lot at his caddie, Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay. Even for that, he shared, “I used a lot of swear words … Complete rage. I felt bad about it afterwards …” However, when he later shared his expectations for the sport, it left Azinger angry about the double standards. 

Furthermore, Azinger shared how Rory McIlroy responded to the media when asked, using the f-word in front of the fans. Azinger quoted, “He said, ‘It felt pretty effing good.” And I’m like, “But which is it, Rory? Is it that golf is held to a higher standard, or are you just gonna f you the fans and act like that’s okay? But you can’t say that. You can’t say the fans need to behave better and then, in the meantime. Lay them to waste. Can’t be on both sides.” 

Well, for McIlroy, it was a subtle reaction as he shared during the press conference that, “we shut them up by our performance and how we played. You know, 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.” However, interestingly, the label of being hypocritical has been applied to McIlroy multiple times. In January 2022, he snubbed the golfer, making a switch, but later in 2024, he admitted being too judgmental.

Apart from that, the European team was also seen trying to step into the feud. Shane Lowry was stopped by a caddying coming to the fans for profanity. In fact, Erica Stoll, who got beer thrown at her, was seen stepping away from the course to handle things calmly. However, despite that, the gesture of the golfer has left Azinger thinking about the Northern Irishman being on both sides. 

Well, away from Azinger thinking of him negatively, the golfer has made his feelings clear after taking lessons from this edition. He has shared how he would lay out the message for the 2025 Ryder Cup. 

Rory McIlroy shares learning for the fans in Ireland for the 2027 edition

McIlroy’s group was the one most impacted by the fans’ misbehavior. It all started with Heather McMahan, who encouraged the fans with the “F you, Rory” chants. Furthermore, it continued to grow, and the group experienced increased security. ‌McIlroy has said, “The police out there and the amount of the security presence was insane.” Furthermore, when he discussed learning, he made his intentions clear. 

The golfer said, “We will be making sure to say to our fans in Ireland in 2027 that what happened here this week is not acceptable.” The golfer, with his aim to improve decorum, has clarified it in the statement. With the next edition teeing off at Adare Manor, he has cleared the hopes of expectations. In fact, for this season too, the golfer has not blamed the entire American crowd. 

Talking about the profanity in the course, he said, “Look, it’s a minority of the crowd. It’s not the majority. The majority of people here are true golf fans and are respectful and let both teams have the same chance to hit the shots and play a fair contest. But you know, there was a small subset of people who behaved a little bit differently than that.”

With the golfer sharing his aims to improve the sport, the snub coming from an American veteran would lead to a debate. Do you agree with what Azinger has said? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.