Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry overcame shocking abuse at the Ryder Cup in New York to help Europe all-but seal the trophy with a day to spare.
As the visitors built the biggest day-two lead in modern Ryder Cup history (11-and-a-half to 4-and-a-half), fans at Bethpage Black stole headlines for the wrong reasons.
American fans targeted Lowry and McIlroy at the Ryder Cup on Saturday.
At times, McIlroy and Lowry needed to be escorted around the golf course by state police as spectators overstepped the mark in New York and turned the famous event into a farce.
After a hostile reception on Friday afternoon, the two Europe stars were singled out for abuse in the top fourball match against Justin Thomas and Cam Young.
It later emerged that Stoll, who is American, had to stop following the match due to the vociferous abuse – before returning to congratulate her husband on the 18th green.
While Europe were prepared to be heckled this weekend, as is often the case in away Ryder Cups, the timing of it quickly became an issue on Saturday afternoon.
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Fans began to yell out on the backswing of the Europeans, forcing them to back off and call for the match referee to step in.
After telling fans to ‘shut the f*** up’ in the morning session, McIlroy could be heard saying ‘I’m not going to putt until they shut up’ in the afternoon.
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He was later seen telling fans: “In between shots, say whatever you want to me.”
At the 14th hole, McIlroy went ballistic after holing a birdie putt, shouting ‘f****** come on’ at the fans.
Then on 17, talkSPORT heard one fan shout ‘you suck Rory’ during his swing, prompting fury from Team Europe staff, before a police officer motioned over to the spectator in question and caused them to scuttle away.
At least one spectator was ejected by police on 18 after a fight broke out in the grandstands, with Lowry and McIlroy on the green below.
Nevertheless, the two Europeans were able to put everything to one side and collect that blue point, as the visitors guaranteed a huge lead going into Sunday – leading 10-and-a-half to 3-and-a-half at the time of writing.
The Northern Irishman had blown kisses at the crowd from the first tee as they chanted, ‘f*** you Rory’, a song McIlroy would have to get used to across the day.
Thomas, a good friend of his, showed his class by intervening at the ninth hole, telling the crowd to be quiet while his opponents were taking their shots and continuing to do so thereafter.
Lowry rose to the insults, screaming ‘f*** you’ back at the crowd after holing a putt to win the fourth hole for Team Europe.
At the tenth, the Irishman was held back from confronting a fan as McIlroy was teeing off, before gesturing to officials for him to be kicked out.
When asked about the abuse he and the rest of his Europe teammates received, McIlroy said: “Look, we’re playing away in the Ryder Cup. It’s really, really challenging.
“It’s not for me to say, people can be their own judges on whether it’s been taken too far or not.
“I’m just proud of us to be able to win with what we had to go through.”
Earlier in New York, Europe became the first away team in history to win the first three sessions of a Ryder Cup, asserting unprecedented dominance on foreign soil.
They took a five-point lead into the afternoon fourballs on Saturday, looking for just a fifth away win in their history, which almost feels like a certainty now.
By winning both foursomes sessions 3-1, Europe did much to silence the crowd in the mornings.
In fact, it was the travelling fans who were most vocal in the 18th grandstand at the halfway point on Saturday.
With $750 tickets and $15 beers, many were questioning whether the PGA of America had stifled New York’s famous sporting atmosphere. Until now.
European fans still found their voices amid the carnage, chanting ‘sacked in the morning’ at US captain Keegan Bradley.
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And in unrelated scenes, a row broke out in the match between Bryson DeChambeau & Scottie Scheffler and Justin Rose & Tommy Fleetwood.
Reporting on the course, talkSPORT golf correspondent Rupert Bell said: “It took the PGA of America and their team so long to deal with this.
“Hearing that his wife had to leave… that’s not what you should be having to contend with.
“Yes, he accepts there should be banter but when it’s going to the level that it was…
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“I’m so glad that they won that point, along with Lowry and put the Americans firmly in their place.
“He must be emotionally drained after it, but he is the beating heart of the team. He knows he’s going to be the fulcrum of everything that comes at them for whatever reason.
“But some of the things that were being said to him were just plainly wrong. There’s no excuse for the behaviour from the American fans and what Rory had to deal with.”
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