Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll have received an apology after the ugly scenes at the Ryder Cup, while Tyrrell Hatton has rejected Keegan Bradley’s claims about Team Europe fans
Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll have been sent an apology from the PGA of America for the abuse they received at the Ryder Cup. The atmosphere was cagey at Bethpage Black at the weekend, with McIlroy and his fellow Team Europe players receiving an abundance of verbal abuse.
However, things took a turn for the worse when McIlroy’s wife, Stoll, saw a drink tossed at her by one crowd member, as tensions boiled over between players and supporters. As a result of the ugly scenes, PGA of America chief, Derek Sprague, has now revealed he will be sending McIlroy and his family an apology.
He said: “I do plan on sending them an email with my heartfelt apologies for what occurred. There’s no place for that in the Ryder Cup or in the game of golf.
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“I can’t wait to reach out to Rory and Erica and really, quite frankly, the entire European team. The whole European team should not have been subjected to that.
“And because of that, I feel badly and I plan on apologising to them. When it started in 1927, it was about sportsmanship and integrity of the game, and that’s what we want it to be and continue to.”
It comes as Tyrrell Hatton has lambasted Keegan Bradley’s views that the support at Bethpage was merely a “passionate” showing, with the Team USA captain also claiming he had “heard a lot of stories that Rome was pretty violent as well” at the last tournament in 2023.
Speaking during a press conference ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the Englishman said: “Personally, I don’t think they were close at all. With what I heard last week, I don’t think Rome comes anywhere near that. To be honest, personally, I don’t agree with what they said there.
“I don’t know what else to add to that. I think they (Rome and Bethpage) are quite far apart to be honest.”
Meanwhile, speaking about the hostile crowd at Bethpage Black, where Team Europe triumphed 15-13 over Team USA, Hatton added: “I don’t really think that the insults is the way forward. I would much prefer it to be a respectful atmosphere – you let the guys play and the best team wins, rather than trying to affect the outcome by trying to put off players.
“But I don’t think it will be as hostile (in 2027) as maybe as it was last week. I would like to think that it will be very respectful.”
PGA Tour stalwart Tommy Fleetwood also explained what it was like competing inside a cauldron of enemy territory at the weekend. He said: “There is a big difference between a hostile environment and personal comments.
“Again, I think we were all prepared for it. Personal comments can go too far, and you obviously hope that that doesn’t happen again, or it shouldn’t happen, but it is just so out of our control.”
Luke Donald’s Team Europe ultimately had the last laugh at the tournament, persevering through a tirade of ill treatment to win the tournament 15-13. After dominating the foursomes and fourballs sessions on the Friday and Saturday, USA staged quite the comeback in Sunday’s singles, at large points looking as though they were set to complete the comeback of the century from 11½-4½ down.
However, Shane Lowry ensured that Europe retained the title they won in Rome two years ago by edging out a draw with Russell Henley, as droves of American fans instantly headed for the exit. Hatton then clinched the title outright for the visitors with his own draw against Collin Morikawa.