Rory McIlroy was involved in heated confrontations with the New York fans this weekend as Team Europe defeated Team USA 15-13 at Bethpage Black to win and retain the Ryder Cup
Former American professional golfer Paul Azinger has called out Team Europe hero Rory McIlroy for his response to the treatment he received at the Ryder Cup from USA supporters. Throughout the three-day event at Bethpage Black, McIlroy was targeted by the US fans as they aimed to score an advantage over the Europeans.
At one stage, a beleaguered McIlroy refused to putt his ball while the American supporters hollered at the Northern Irishman. McIlroy also told fans to “shut the f*** up” before producing a brilliant shot to land his ball on the green.
When asked about that confrontation, McIlroy then said in a press conference that it felt: ‘Pretty f****** good,’ to produce such a shot. The abuse was not just aimed solely at the 36-year-old though.
His wife Erica Stoll was also targeted by the US fans and was hit with beer.
In response to that, McIlroy insisted that golf should be held to a ‘higher standard,’ while team captain Luke Donald insisted that incident crossed the line.
However Azinger, who won the PGA Championship in 1993, suggested that McIlroy was a hypocrite for calling out the bad behaviour of the US fans considering what he said on the course this weekend.
Speaking on the Subpar podcast, he explained: “I wanna take a shot at Rory, who I love.
“Rory probably turned down $500m not to go to LIV and he is a European and we see how much he wants to beat our tour but he stayed here, he fought for us and he fought for the PGA Tour, so I love him for that.
“But today in the press conference after it [the Ryder Cup] is over, he is saying: ‘I think golf should be held to a higher standard of decorum.’
“In the meantime he is going: ‘F you, f you, f you,’ in full voice for the world to see. He turns around and says to the guy: ‘Shut the f up.’
Paul Azinger takes a shot at Rory McIlroy’s Ryder Cup behaviour:
“Today in the press conference he said ‘I think golf should be held to a higher standard of decorum. But in the meantime he says ‘f-you, f-you, f-you’ in full voice for the world to see.
“He turns around and says… pic.twitter.com/RXclb78L4n
— Flushing It (@flushingitgolf) September 30, 2025
“The guy in the media asked him today: ‘How did that feel today Rory to say to that guy shut the f up and then hit it two feet,’ and he said: ‘It felt pretty f’ing good.’ And I am like which is it, Rory?
“Is it that golf is held to a higher standard or are you going to f you the fans and act like that is okay? I love Rory but you can’t say that.
“You can’t say the fans need to behave better and then in the meantime [pointing in different directions] lay them to waste. You can’t do both, you have to be one or the other.”
