Rory McIlroy didn’t hold back after Team Europe’s dramatic Ryder Cup victory, finally addressing one of the ugliest moments of a chaotic weekend at Bethpage Black. In an emotional press conference, McIlroy opened up about the unacceptable treatment his wife, Erica Stoll, received at Bethpage over the weekend — including having a drink thrown at her by a fan.

The Ryder Cup is no stranger to passion, but what unfolded over the weekend became an unfortunately hostile environment for Team Europe. “There was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behavior,” McIlroy said during the press conference. “It should be off-limits, but obviously it wasn’t this week,” he continued, speaking about the incident that took place with his wife during Day 2. Despite the chaos, Erica handled the situation with remarkable calm.

“She’s a very, very strong woman,” McIlroy confessed. “She handled everything this week with class and poise and dignity like she always has,” he added. The unfortunate incident took place on Saturday, after McIlroy and Shane Lowry won their match against Justin Thomas & Cameron Young in the afternoon fourballs. Despite the incident, Erica never turned it into a big deal, and the way she handled the situation drew admiration from other players, too.

“She didn’t bring that into the team room,” Justin Rose added in, clearly taken aback. “That says a lot about her strength,” he continued. The fact that something so serious flew under the radar even inside Team Europe’s inner circle speaks volumes — not just about Erica’s character, but also the surreal, high-stakes atmosphere at Bethpage.

Shane Lowry didn’t mince his words either —“I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy, and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing, and the way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable, and kudos to her for that.” Lowry was, in fact, involved in his own heated moment with a fan.

Despite efforts by the PGA of America — including a dozen New York troopers deployed and crowd-control messages — the abuse persisted. From taunts about his weight to cruel jabs like “Teletubbies” and “Ozempic,” the atmosphere boiled over. Even fellow American players like Justin Thomas were forced into peacekeeping roles, requesting fans to keep the jabs respectful and limited. 

What should have been a chance to “come and support your team” like McIlroy highlighted in the presser, instead turned into a battleground of unruly fan behaviour — a challenge even Team Europe’s captain, Luke Donald, had prepared his players for.

Rory McIlroy and Team Europe stood tall despite the hostility

Despite Luke Donald’s efforts to prepare Team Europe for the madness of Bethpage Black — even using VR headsets to simulate hostile fan environments — the real thing hit on an entirely different level. The European captain acknowledged the intensity.

“It was loud. It was raucous… What I consider crossing the line is personal insults and making sounds when they are trying to hit on their backswings, or very close to when they are trying to go into their routines. That did happen a little bit,” he said. 

Donald commended his players for how they handled it, but the abuse, especially toward Rory McIlroy, went well beyond respectful sporting banter. From the moment he stepped on the first tee on Friday, McIlroy was met with boos and four-letter rants. Things turned especially ugly on Saturday when he snapped back at a heckler with “shut the f**k up” before sticking an approach shot that silenced the noise, but only temporarily.

One Irish fan summed up the hostility grimly — “They kept talking about his wife… That’s apparently what New York does.” Yet, despite it all, McIlroy and Team Europe rose above the noise and delivered where it mattered most. After storming to a dominant lead in the early sessions, they held firm through Sunday’s singles to win the Ryder Cup 15-13.