The relationship between fans and Rory McIlroy during the recently concluded Ryder Cup was tense, to say the least. The Northern Irishman was subjected to all kinds of shouts from outside the ropes at Bethpage Black, and he responded with the occasional heated remark.
Naturally, McIlroy spoke about the issue several times during the event. His words during the winning team’s press conference have had a particular impact, when he said that golf should operate with a “higher standard,” very different from what was experienced at Bethpage Black.
Interestingly, the Northern Irishman brought some of the colorful language he used with fans on the course to the press conference itself. When asked by a reporter, he replied that responding to the crowd felt “very f***ing satisfying.”
This contradiction did not go unnoticed by major champion and current golf commentator Paul Azinger. The three-time Ryder Cup winner, twice as a player and once as captain, criticized him during an interview on the popular Subpar podcast.
“Today in the press conference, after it’s over, he is saying that ‘I think golf should be held to a higher standard’ of decorum,” Azinger said, according to GolfWRX. “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 to the guy, shut the f up. The guy in the media asks him how did that feel Rory, to tell him to shut up and then hit it to two feet. And he said it felt pretty f’ing good.”
Azinger added:
“I’m like, which is it, Rory? Is it that golf is held to a higher standard, or are you just going to f- you the fans and act that, like that’s OK? I love Rory, but you can’t say that. You can’t say the fans need to behave better and then in the meantime lay them to waste. You can’t do both. You have got to be one or the other.”
Numerous reports on social media and in the press have highlighted hostile behavior toward European players at Bethpage Black. Several prominent figures in the world of golf have condemned the incidents, including the legendary Tom Watson, who apologized for it and said that, as a former U.S. captain, he felt “ashamed.”
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