Rory McIlroy’s wife, Erica Stoll, has had the last laugh after enduring three days of vile abuse from rowdy spectators at the Ryder Cup.
Stoll had beer thrown at her and was repeatedly made the butt of jokes, with nothing seemingly off limits for the New York crowd, who even mocked McIlroy’s decision to call off filing for divorce from Stoll in June last year.
On Saturday she was reportedly reduced to tears by the flood of vitriol directed her way, with McIlroy stepping in to tell the crowd to ‘shut the f*** up’.
McIlroy and Team Europe ultimately had the last laugh, edging a 15-13 victory in a nerve-shredding final day at Bethpage Black on Sunday.
The celebrations on the team bus afterwards made it clear how the Northern Irishman’s teammates felt about the result.
In one clip filmed by Justin Rose’s caddie, Mark Fulcher, players performed their version of ‘Zombie’ by The Cranberries in honour of the Masters champion. ‘He’s in your head, in your head…. Rory, Rory, Rory’ is the refrain as McIlroy’s team-mates surround him in unison.
Stoll had beer thrown at her and was repeatedly made the butt of jokes, with nothing off limits for the New York crowd – who even mocked McIlroy’s decision to call off filing for divorce
Team Europe even praised Stoll for not allowing her personal struggles to become a distraction
Stoll is pictured with a champagne glass in hand, joyously belting out the lyrics to show how McIlroy had got into the heads of the United States fans in a moment of sweet revenge.
The Team Europe stars even praised Stoll for not allowing her personal struggles to become a distraction ahead of Sunday’s victory.
‘I actually had no idea that Erica had a beer thrown at her yesterday, so fair play to Erica, she didn’t bring that to the team room, we didn’t make that a big deal,’ Justin Rose said.
‘It’s news to me, which says a lot about the strength of Erica and everybody in this team today.’
Shane Lowry added: ‘I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing.
‘The way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable and kudos to her for that.’
McIlroy and Stoll met at the 2012 Ryder Cup, when McIlroy was in a relationship with tennis player Caroline Wozniacki and Stoll was working for the PGA of America.
At that Ryder Cup, Stoll was a PGA transport official who helped arrange a police escort for McIlroy to get to the course on time after he misread his tee-time.
On Saturday Stoll was reportedly reduced to tears by the flood of vitriol directed her way, with McIlroy stepping in to tell the crowd to ‘shut the f*** up’ and later criticised their behaviour
The abuse directed at McIlroy included frequent jibes about his relationship with Stoll
Team Europe clung on to their lead to win 15-13, taking their 11th Ryder Cup out of the last 15
Two years later, and following a three-year relationship and brief engagement to Wozniacki, McIlroy began dating Stoll. The two married in 2017 and welcomed their daughter, Poppy Kennedy McIlroy, in 2020.
After years of keeping his family life largely private, McIlroy filed for divorce in May 2024, three days before the start of the PGA Championship, and played without his wedding ring.
A month later he decided to dismiss the divorce, telling The Guardian: ‘Thankfully, we have resolved our differences and look forward to a new beginning’.
Stoll, who is two years McIlroy’s senior, is from Irondequoit, New York, 400 miles from Bethpage Black.
The abuse directed at McIlroy included frequent jibes about his relationship with Stoll, with one fan shouting ‘How’s your divorce going?’, according to Golfweek.
Another referred to Wozniacki when they reportedly shouted: ‘Your ex is looking for you.’
The hostilities reached boiling point at the 17th green on Saturday when a fan hurled beer in Stoll’s direction, with the alcohol hitting her hat. In the ensuing melee Stoll looked around in shock, as if to see where the projectile had come from.
McIlroy appeared to ask if she was okay and shepherded her away from the throng. He later admitted that he was ‘drained’ by the end of the day, while Erica was said to be crying.
The hostilities reached boiling point at the 17th green on Saturday when a fan hurled beer in Stoll’s direction, with the alcohol hitting her hat – and reportedly left Stoll in tears
McIlroy filed for divorce from Stoll in May last year – before dismissing it a month later
McIlroy and Stoll met at the 2012 Ryder Cup, when McIlroy was in a relationship with tennis player Caroline Wozniacki and Stoll was working for the PGA of America
The Northern Irishman offered reassurances as he and the team celebrated their triumph.
‘Erica is fine. She is a very, very strong woman,’ he said. ‘She handled everything this week with poise and dignity like she always has and I love her and we’re going to have a good time celebrating tonight.’
He added: ‘I think if I was an American, I would be annoyed. I didn’t hear a lot of shouts for Scottie today, but I heard a lot of shouts against me. Support your players. That’s the thing.’
McIlroy also took the opportunity to criticise the behaviour seen in the galleries throughout the week.
‘I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf,’ he said. ‘I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.
‘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.
McIlroy said: ‘Golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.’
‘Sometimes this week we didn’t see that. So no, this should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup.
‘But you know, we will be making sure to say to our fans in Ireland in 2027 that what happened here this week is not acceptable, and for me, it’s… you know, come and support your home team. Come and support your team.’
Europe went into the final day with a seemingly unassailable lead of 11.5-4.5, meaning it would take a record comeback for the USA to recover.
But the hosts gave it their all at Bethpage Black on the final day and scored a record-equalling 8.5 points to nearly complete a historic comeback.
Team Europe clung on to win 15-13, taking their 11th Ryder Cup out of the last 15 and their second out of the last four on American soil.
