LIV Golf Veteran Slams Ryder Cup Management Over Rory McIlroy’s ‘Unacceptable’ Mistreatment

The outbursts from World No. 2 Rory McIlroy shocked many, but his fiery reactions didn’t come without reason. On the opening day, cameras caught him flipping off the crowd, and the following day, he was overheard snapping, “Shut the f*** up.”  With the abuses hurled at him about past romantic affiliations and even throwing a water bottle at his wife, no one thought it was unwarranted. And one fellow pro came to his support for that, exactly that, who pointed to deeper issues behind the scenes.

After the Ryder Cup wrapped up, LIV golfer Ian Poulter weighed in, siding with McIlroy and holding officials accountable. Sharing a video from @Crossfieldmark on his Instagram story, Poulter wrote: “So so so disappointing and sad that this happened this way. This is not acceptable and must be fixed moving forward. Team Europe handled it so well, considering the abuse. .”

In the video, Mark Crossfield talked about how a person employed by the PGA of America led the crowd to chant against McIlroy. Heather McMahan, comedian, was serving as the USA team’s emcee, who encouraged the “F*** you Rory,” chants, and the fans followed. As a golf enthusiast, it is disturbing news to know, and a similar response was that of Ian Poulter. He took the side of the Europeans for the exceptional comeback, despite the trolls, as it was faced by the entire European team from day 1.

However, when the backlash extended during the tournament, the PGA of America shared, “Heather has extended an apology to Rory McIlroy and Ryder Cup Europe and has stepped down from hosting the first tee of the Ryder Cup.” The rift that began with the remark and continued to grow as, in later rounds, a fan threw a beer can at McIlroy and his wife, Erica Stoll. However, despite all that, the golfer demonstrated his exceptional performance.

McIlroy, with five sessions of participation at the 2025 Ryder Cup, recorded 3-1-1 stats. On the first day, he recorded a win and a tie. Later on day two, he added two more wins, cementing the team closer to the trophy. However, on the final day, playing against Scottie Scheffler, he lost with a 1-down score. However, despite that, he scored 70% of the points and helped the team win 15-13. All this came as a battle against the notorious fans who made personal remarks about McIlroy. Interestingly, McIlroy wasn’t left to face the criticism alone. Jessica Hadwin, wife of PGA Tour pro Adam Hadwin, also spoke out in his defense.

Jessica, who has been outspoken on social media about golf controversies, blasted fan behavior, writing: “Imagine being legit furious and yelling insane stuff to players who didn’t even know you existed… Same guys who DM players telling them to KYS over golf scores. Ultimate loser behavior.”

So, with criticism of the crowd growing louder, attention soon shifted to the host team. That’s when U.S. captain Keegan Bradley stepped in, acknowledging that his squad’s poor play had fueled fan frustration.

After Rory McIlroy faced misbehavior, Bradley took the blame for the hostile fans

Bradey admitted, “Part of it is our fault. We are not playing up to the standards that they want to see, and they are angry, and they should be.” In the first two days, the American side won just two matches and recorded a tie. The poor performance of the most rooted players is what left the fans furious against the competitors.

He also shared how “violent” behavior was observed in Rome as well. However, this time the fans crossed the line by making personal comments. In fact, the aggressiveness invited extra security and an American player to chime in. During the round, Justin Thomas was seen gesturing at the fans to be quiet while the game was in play. But that didn’t help much.

Moreover, it was not only the Northern Irishman, but all of the European players faced their fair share of heckling from the crowd.

“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,” said Luke Donald, the European captain at a news conference Saturday night. “That did happen a little bit. It’s happened at other Ryder Cups, too.”

The 1999 Battle of Brookline Ryder Cup remains as the most famous instance of a rowdy home crowd.

However, even after all that, the Europeans showcased their dominance as the road side team and retained the cup.

But, even with all those obstacles, Rory McIlroy & Co. have successfully fought through all that to emerge victorious. However, for the next editions, this instance serves as a learning experience to prevent players from experiencing the same instance.

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