FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — They rained down in torrents, boos and obscenities and cheap shots. They blanketed Rory McIlroy everywhere he went, and they did what the United States team was unable to do: put a dent, however slight, in the European team.
The Europeans can point to the Ryder Cup scoreboard, which after Saturday stood at 11.5-4.5 — leaving Europe just 2.5 points from victory. But it took a slog through a storm of insults for the Europeans to get there, and there’s likely to be some bad blood that lingers all the way until the 2033 PGA Championship comes back this way.
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We all knew this would happen, right from the moment that Bethpage Black was announced as a Ryder Cup host all the way back in 2013. New Yorkers revel in their mouthy crassness. “I’m walkin’ heah!” might as well be the state motto. Children here learn to say “F— you” before they learn their own names. Given the chance to cut loose on some outsiders — defined as anyone outside the tri-state area — New Yorkers’ bellows can peel paint.
Which made the first three sessions at the 2025 Ryder Cup so unusual, because the United States’ pathetic on-course performance seemed to dampen the gallery as well. For the most part, the galleries were as toothless as the players they were cheering.
For the most part. McIlroy, because of his status as the alpha dog of the European team — and because it’s clear that he lets these things get to him, if only a bit — heard plenty of chirping from the gallery. On Friday, cameras caught him flipping the bird at the fans, and on Saturday morning, he gave a full-on “Shut the f— up” to the crowd.
“I don’t mind them having a go at us. Like that’s to be expected. I mean, that’s what an away Ryder Cup is,” McIlroy said after Saturday morning’s session. “Whenever they are still doing it while you are over the ball and trying to hit your shot, that’s the tough thing.”
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But the fans, as it turned out, were only getting warmed up. A perfectly toxic mix of elements — a lovely afternoon, freely flowing alcohol, even more freely flowing frustration — led the galleries to spend the entire afternoon torching McIlroy and playing partner Shane Lowry.
Bethpage Black’s routing includes several greens — including 6 and 8 — that lie in small valleys, with hillsides rising up around them. The fans on those hillsides ripped McIlroy, each screamer emboldening the next. And when it became clear that they were getting under McIlroy’s skin on the 6th green, they only redoubled their efforts.
Some fans started counting out the seconds as McIlroy looked over his putts. Others cut loose with obscenities in the silence before McIlroy swung. Still others took shots at McIlroy’s personal life that drew the attention of both Lowry and local law enforcement. More than one fan who went way over the line found themselves face-to-face with one of the truck-bumper-jawed state troopers who walked the entire route with McIlroy.
As the round went on, security increased; by the time McIlroy crossed back over the road to play the final four holes, he was accompanied by dozens of officers on foot, on bikes, and even on a state-trooper-emblazoned golf cart. Plainclothes officers also mixed in with the crowd, and at least two fans were escorted off the property for getting a bit too vocal.
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All the abuse clearly hit home with McIlroy. At one point on 6, he remained in a crouch, saying he wouldn’t putt until the gallery stopped its NBA free-throw-style counting. He failed to hit one of his trademark silence-the-crowd putts until the 14th, when he at last cut loose with joy and relief.
That putt, in some strange and ethereal way, seemed to give Europe enough energy to achieve liftoff. While the Europeans were winning at least two of the matches all afternoon, their leads were slim indeed — usually only a single hole. Had the United States been able to mount any kind of sustained charge, this day, and this Ryder Cup, could have turned out very differently.
Instead, as if galvanized by their teammates’ rally, the team of Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose, already strong thanks to Rose’s flawless putting, cranked up their assault on Scottie Scheffler and Bryson DeChambeau. They closed out the world’s No. 1 golfer and the world’s No. 1 social media golfer on the 16th hole, 3&2, but not without a little drama.
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Opinions and perspectives varied on what happened and how severe it was, but DeChambeau’s caddie apparently stepped into Rose’s putting line on the 15th hole. DeChambeau got involved, tempers flared, and, well … Europe closed out the Americans on the next hole.
That left two matches on the docket, and in both cases, all the United States could do was hang on. J.J. Spaun and Xander Schauffele fought back from 2 down to beat Sepp Straka and the fearsome Jon Rahm on the final hole. Meanwhile, Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay fought Tyrrell Hatton and Matt Fitzpatrick to a draw through 16 holes, only to fall on the 18th.
As the day wound down and the American fans headed to the exits — much to the derision of their European counterparts — the shape of Sunday became clear. This would be a coronation, not a competition. No matter what kind of [expletive] the New York galleries can throw out on Sunday, the scoreboard is the scoreboard.