The European side retained the Ryder Cup on Sunday afternoon thanks to a Shane Lowry birdie on 18, but this year’s event will be remembered less for the golf and more for the fan behaviour at Bethpage in New York.
While the Americans attempted to mount a furious rally during singles play, ultimately they were too many points behind to catch their cross Atlantic rivals. In fact, fans had very little to cheer for through the first few days of the event as the Europeans led wire to wire in the rare “away” win on American soil.
Perhaps fuelled by the lack of victories in the early going, the New York crowd took to hurling insults at the European side rather than cheering on their countrymen as the tournament unfolded. While most expected a raucous crowd to be amongst the more boisterous groups in recent years, many an analyst and player were shocked by some of the behaviours which unfolded over the weekend.
“I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf,” Rory McIlroy said Sunday after the victory. “I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf. I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.”
“The police out there and the amount of security presence was insane,” McIlroy continued. “Look, nothing was going to happen. There wasn’t going to be a physical altercation or anything like that. … There was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behaviour.”
While the international affair has traditionally brought out some of the more animated reactions from galleries over the years, 2025’s version crossed the line of good natured jeering early on in the contest. McIlroy and Shane Lowry had several instances where they barked back at the crowd, with Lowry’s caddie needing to separate him from the crowd at one point.
“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,” McIlroy said. “It was a rough week for all of us, but at the same time, we shut them up by our performance.”
Even American Justin Thomas admitted that things went too far this year. “Cam [Young] and I said it to Shane and Rory yesterday that we felt for them. It was unfortunate,” Thomas said. “Cam and I just wished that we gave them something to cheer for instead of people to cheer against. I think that was kind of the main consensus of the last two days, that we weren’t giving them enough to cheer for, and they were just trying to help us win. I guess that’s the New York fans for you.”
According to reports out of New York, multiple fans had to be removed from the premises due to their behaviours over the weekend. While security is always going to be present at a major sporting event, even the casual fan could see a growing police presence as the tournament went on.
Amidst the numerous verbal spats that the European side had with the American fans, perhaps what sent McIlroy over the edge was the treatment his wife Erica received while on the course. Not only was she the subject of a relentless barrage of taunts, but also had a beer thrown at her to close out the event.
While just about any professional athlete will tell you that it’s always a risk to bring family to “away games”, one shouldn’t have to fear for their safety. A fact that Lowry alluded to in his post-match comments as well.
“I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy, and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing,” Lowry said. “And the way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable, and kudos to her for that.”
Europe will now have the chance to show the world if their fans can do any better in 2027 as the event shifts back to European soil for the 46th edition at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027. There, they’ll look to continue their recent run of dominance over the US as they’ve now won 11 out of the last 15 events dating back to 1995.
Photo: Bryan Berlin. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.