American golf legend Tom Watson said that he was “ashamed” of the abuse directed at Team Europe’s players and families after crowd behaviour marred a dramatic Ryder Cup in New York.
Repeated chants of “f*** you, Rory” were directed at Rory McIlroy, whose wife, Erica, was also subjected to vile remarks and had beer thrown at her. Shane Lowry, the man whose putt retained the trophy after a stirring USA comeback, said: “The stuff Erica McIlroy had to listen to for a few days was horrible, so fair play to her for being out there supporting her husband and team. She was the big winner in my eyes this week.”
Although Keegan Bradley, the USA captain, did not condemn the fans, one of his Ryder Cup predecessors expressed his shock at the scenes. Watson, an eight-times major winner and the last American captain to win an away Ryder Cup, in 1993, wrote on social media: “I’d like to congratulate Ryder Cup Europe on their victory. Your team play for the first few days was sensational. More importantly, I’d like to apologise for the rude and mean-spirited behaviour from our American crowd at Bethpage. As a former player, captain and as an American, I am ashamed of what happened.”
Lowry received plenty of abuse, but said the vitriol directed at McIlroy was on a different scale. Asked if he felt Bradley or the USA players could have done more to calm the crowd, the Irishman said: “They could have but they were well behind and trying to do all they could to win. Win at all costs for them. It was out of hand in the end. What I can’t understand is I look into the crowd and these people are the same age as my mum and dad. And they’ve probably got kids and grandkids. And they’re throwing out obscenities, I just don’t get it. Look, we knew it was going to happen, we were ready for it. We did well to handle it the way we did.”
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Luke Donald, who said the abuse was “brutal” and “nasty”, said he would take his time before deciding whether he wanted to serve a third term as Europe captain in Ireland in 2027.
“I haven’t even thought about it,” he said a few hours after the post-match party at the team hotel had finished. “Again, I’m super-humbled that they [the players] would even mention it. I think I have to sit down and think things through and what that would be, what that would look like. I won’t rule it out, but I want to kind of enjoy this one.”
Watson, right, captained the USA at Gleneagles in 2014 against a European team that included McIlroy
TIMES PHOTOGRAPHER BRADLEY ORMESHER
Tiger Woods is widely expected to take on the role for the USA at Adare Manor in Limerick. Europe have lost a string of potential captains after their moves to the LIV Golf tour circuit. Justin Rose is a stand-out candidate, but his form at 45 suggests he could still make the team as a player in 2027. “I hope Justin continues on his path because he was unbelievable out there this week,” said Donald.
Francesco Molinari, the 2018 Open champion and a vice-captain at Bethpage, is another option, but Lowry said whoever succeeds Donald will face a daunting task. “God help whoever’s going to fill his shoes. It’s like trying to come in after Sir Alex Ferguson and we’ve seen how that’s gone over the last 12 years.”
‘Are you watching Donald Trump?’ — Team Europe’s message to president
It emerged President Trump texted his congratulations to McIlroy while the players were together in the aftermath of what was Europe’s fifth win in the USA. McIlroy then filmed the players singing: “Are you watching, Donald Trump?” and the President went public with his reply: “Yes, I’m watching.” Donald explained: “Rory read it out to us and he’s like, ‘Let’s do the video with the funny chant and send it back.’ That’s what we did, and he sent out a reply to the world. It was just a bit of banter.”
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Lowry said the victory party was still going when he left at 2.30am. Tyrrell Hatton, whose half-point won the cup, had given a detailed inventory of his drinking exploits on receiving his Ryder Cup call-up, but said he had been “a good boy” and did not have a hangover on Monday. “I just felt knackered,” he said. “That was one of the most stressful rounds of golf of my life.”