A running theme of the opening days of the Ryder Cup has seen Irish duo Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry targeted with some extreme heckling by the partisan American crowd.

Team Europe knew as they arrived in New York that the reception awaiting them may be less than hospitable, and took measures to prepare for the persistent heckling that was expected from the stands.

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McIlroy and Lowry have both been in impressive form thus far at Bethpage, but both have now had prickly run-ins with members of the crowd.

In the Saturday morning session, McIlroy was picked up on a hot mic yelling at particularly boorish fans to “Shut the fuck up,” before sinking a shot to within five feet to secure his foursomes match.

The Irish duo were paired together for the second day in a row for Saturday’s evening session, and the tense reception they had received only worsened as the evening progressed.

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“F*ck you!” – Shane Lowry points out fan at Ryder Cup

Shane Lowry and Rory McIlroy were tied with Justin Thomas and Cam Young through three holes on Saturday evening, before an eagle putt presented Lowry with an opportunity to win the fourth for Europe.

The Offaly man absolutely nailed it from way out, and his fired-up reaction was picked up very clearly by the mics on the green.

“YEAH! COME ON! FUCK YOU!” Lowry exclaimed while pointing out a patron in the crowd.

It appears that Lowry’s expletive was motivated by abuse towards Rory McIlroy from the crowd that the Sky Sports crew described as “horrific.”

Lowry putted second of the European duo at the fourth, and McIlroy’s putt had been preceded by vicious heckling. So vicious was the abuse that McIlroy had to pause his preparation for the putt.

“We just had a bad moment here,” the Sky commentators said.

“A heckler – it was so bad Rory had to walk away and move along.

“It was bad. Just as he was over the ball first time around…it was horrific.”

The fallout from that incident was still lingering in the air when Lowry’s call-out was delivered.

Shameful vitriol aimed at McIlroy and Lowry continued throughout the round 

Sky correspondent Jamie Weir would later reveal that Lowry had successfully had a fan ejected from the course for the abuse, which Weir said has been getting more vitriolic and persistent as the weekend has progressed.

It would persist as the round went on, with the American fans goading Rory McIlroy with countdowns as he lined up every putt. Things came to a head at the sixth, as McIlroy refused to putt until the crowd “shut up.”

State troopers arrived to bring some calm  on the 10th tee. According to reporters on the ground, Lowry had another fan kicked out not long after for a derogatory comment.

Oliver Holt of the Daily Mail would later reveal that police dogs were by the side of the 14th green when Lowry and McIlroy’s match arrived.

Golf Digest’s Joel Beall was following McIlroy and Lowry and sounded stunned by what he heard from the US fans. Lowry’s weight seems to have drawn many comments from the gallery.

Reporters on the ground say the PGA have responded by repeatedly flashing ‘Spectator Etiquette’ warnings on the big screen, eliciting repeated boos in the process.

An unpleasant incident was later captured by a fan in the crowd and shared to social media.

The jeers and heckles persisted as Rory McIlroy prepared to take a tee shot, and one remark evidently upset Shane Lowry, who began to move towards the crowd and was held back by his caddie.

Lowry immediately got the attention of a rules official and pointed out the offending patron, who was escorted out.

The vitriol that has met the Irish pair has reached unacceptable levels, with the TV announcers and reporters on the ground expressing their disbelief at how classless the antics of huge sections of the American crowd have been.

While they may have been riled up by some of the cries from the crowd, Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry have done most of their talking on the course, and neither player’s game appears to have been affected by the grief they have been receiving.

However, it has become an unfortunate talking point for the Irishmen and shows no sign of abating.

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