Team Europe knew that playing in the US for the “longest week in golf,” a.k.a the Ryder Cup, was going to be far from easy. Betpage Black’s notoriety for being one of the toughest grounds is one thing, and dealing with the crowd there was going to be another. But, as Rory McIlroy revealed earlier this month, they used VR headsets during practice to “simulate the sights and sounds and noise” to “try to desensitize… as much as possible. ” Perhaps that preparation worked for McIlroy. 

Fans arrived at Bethpage Black on Tuesday to be a part of the three days of practice rounds they could enjoy. While the first two days were uneventful for McIlroy, during his final practice round on Thursday, he got a taste of what he could expect this year. As the Northern Irishman was buttoning up his polo shirt, one Team USA fan yelled, “You don’t need a button to choke on, Rory!” and the crowd burst into laughter. 

Golf personality Gary Williams captured the whole episode, and in it, what stood out wasn’t the lighthearted jab but McIlroy’s response. The Grand Slam winner chuckled– so did a couple of his teammates– and replied, “That’s a good one.” As someone who’s had plenty of darts thrown his way in the arena, he seems to have handled this quite well. And Rory would know, because this isn’t the first time he’s been on the receiving end of U.S.-side heckling at a Ryder Cup.

At Hazeltine in 2016, the atmosphere turned especially raucous, with one fan yelling “You’re going to choke, Rory!” during his match with Patrick Reed, and another stepping so far over the line that he had to be escorted out. McIlroy famously fed off the energy that week, cupping his ear to the crowd after sinking big putts and later saying he thrived on the noise.  Then, there was the 2018 Ryder Cup at Le Golf National, where tempers flared. After making a tricky birdie in a foursomes match, a spectator challenged his putting. But that time, McIlroy snapped back, shouting several times toward them: “Who can’t putt? Who can’t putt? I can putt. I can putt. F***ing come on!”

 By the time Whistling Straits rolled around in 2021, though, the tone had shifted. With COVID travel restrictions keeping most European supporters away, the U.S. galleries were overwhelmingly one-sided; McIlroy said he would “avoid crowd interaction and conserve energy” after learning how quickly the heckling could sap focus. Shane Lowry, who was chuckling with McIlroy this Thursday, had back then revealed that even players’ families “got dog’s abuse” from the gallery that week, showing just how intense the environment had become.

But for now, captain Luke Donald’s approach seemed to have worked– at least in faring through the practice sessions, and clearly that’s what fans have picked out on, too. 

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Fans react to Rory McIlroy’s calm response

Referencing both the fan’s jab and McIlroy’s quick-witted reaction, an observer said: “The best way they can answer the crowd is to laugh along with these shouts…. If you get arsed it will get worse.” That pretty much sums up what the European team had been aiming to do with their VR headsets– get to a point where they are so accustomed to the noise that it starts to seem funny to them.

Another fan noted that deliberateness in Europe’s response. “I love how Team Europe and Rory recognized this! Sometimes the small moments make the biggest impact,” they wrote. Another commentator added, “This is what i like, good humor, and banter and heckling but in a respect kinda way. you can be harsh and cross the line if you do it correctly, good bants.” Some fans even speculated that this was a conscious plan from Team Europe. 

A definite planned tactic by Europe to acknowledge, laugh, commend, and embrace the heckling this week. Kill them with kindness!” wrote one commenter. It’s a shrewd read, because recently McIlroy himself told Ewan Murray of The Guardian that he feels it’s “inevitable something is going to happen,” with five or six days of 30,000 people on your back. For now, the laughs work. But everyone knows the line between “good bants” and chaos can be crossed in a single moment, and McIlroy is already bracing for it.