Rory McIlroy was targeted with homophobic abuse throughout the recent Ryder Cup in New York. Multiple reports state that the Northern Irish golfer endured relentless taunts and chants from crowds lining the Bethpage Black course, and even from one of the tournament’s MCs.

According to Golf Digest’s John Beall, one spectator shouted, “Rory, don’t let your boyfriend down,” referencing his caddie, Harry Diamond. Then came “three more homophobic slurs that cannot be printed,” the writer added.

There were also jeers about his family life and nationality, including shouts of “Have you patched things up with the Mrs.?”, “Take out the Irish trash”, “Leprechaun”, and “There’s no gold at the end of the rainbow, lad”. His wife was also hit by a flying beer one evening.

The golfer hit back at the crowd at different points, showing them the middle finger and telling them to “Shut the f*ck up”.

Despite the abuse, McIlroy ended up on the winning side of the Ryder Cup as part of Team Europe. Afterwards, he told reporters, “I don’t think we should ever accept that (behaviour) in golf.”.

He continued: “Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people.

“Sometimes this week, we didn’t see that. So no, this should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup.”

The tournament will be held in Ireland in 2027, and McIlroy said that they will make sure that fans know that “what happened here this week is not acceptable”.

“It was a rough week for all of us,” he shared. “But at the same time, we shut them up with our performance and how we played.”

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