The Ryder Cup MC employed to warm up the crowd has stepped down from her role and apologised after leading an offensive chant aimed at Rory McIlroy at the start of a chaotic day at Bethpage Black.
Comedian Heather McMahan joined in with the crowd on the first tee on Saturday morning as they sang “F*** you, Rory!” at the Europe’s star player. Her chant rang out over the public address system and was caught on recordings.
The PGA of America said in a statement that McMahan had apologised. “Heather has extended an apology to Rory McIlroy and Ryder Cup Europe and has stepped down from hosting the first tee of the Ryder Cup,” it said.
European captain Luke Donald accused American fans of “crossing the line” after his players, most notably McIlroy, were subjected to heckling, with comments repeatedly aimed at the Northern Irishman as he prepared to play shots.
At one point in the morning McIlroy shouted at a fan and his afternoon match was held up a number of times as appeals for calm – some from opponent Justin Thomas – were made.
Donald said: “It was loud, it was raucous. What I consider crossing the line is personal insults and making sounds when they are trying to hit on their backswings or very close to when they are trying to go into their routines. That did happen a little bit.”
Much had been made of the hostile reception Europe were likely to be given by a boisterous, partisan New York crowd. McIlroy and partner Shane Lowry heard much of the abuse sent Europe’s way, repeatedly clashing with fans on their way to a win in their match with Thomas and Cameron Young.
McIlroy described it as a “really challenging day”, while Lowry seemed to relish the atmosphere.
“It was intense. It was like something I’ve never experienced,” Lowry said. “But this is what I live for. This is it. This is, like, honestly, the reason I get up in the morning, for stuff like this.”
McIlroy said: “People can be their own judge of whether they took it too far or not. I’m just proud of us for being able to win today with what we had to go through.”
The clashes were not only with the crowd, though.
Bryson DeChambeau screamed in the face of Tommy Fleetwood after his partner Justin Rose had complained about DeChambeau’s caddy Greg Bodine walking across the line of his putt, with players and caddies getting involved in the spat.
“I was ready to hit my putt,” Rose said. “I didn’t feel like that space was being honoured. I made my feelings known. Asked him to move. Maybe not as politely as I could have done, but in the scenario, it’s coming down the stretch, we both have a lot on our minds and it’s intense out there.”
Ultimately, Europe shut out the noise to win both sessions convincingly on Saturday and open up a commanding 11.5-4-5 lead.
