Rory McIlroy’s wife Erica Stoll helped Europe win the Ryder Cup with her dignity in the face of ‘astonishing’ abuse, the team’s stars have said.
Stoll had beer thrown at her on Saturday and was reportedly reduced to tears at the end of the second day because of the flood of vitriol she and the team had been subjected to.
McIlroy was a magnet for repeated abuse, with the crowd chanting ‘f*** you Rory’ and bleating slurs about him and Erica. At various points he told spectators to ‘shut the f*** up’ and refused to play a shot.
But after Europe survived a remarkable Team USA comeback on Sunday to win 15-13, their stars praised Erica for not letting her personal struggles blow up into a distraction.
‘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,’ said Justin Rose.
‘It’s news to me, which says a lot about the strength of Erica and everybody in this team today.’
Team Europe’s stars have praised Rory McIlroy’s (right) wife Erica Stoll (left) for her dignity
Stoll had beer thrown at her and weathered abuse – reportedly to the point of tears – without drawing attention to herself
European stars paid tribute to Erica for not letting the abuse she received become a distraction
Shane Lowry added: ‘I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy and the amount of abuse that she received astonishing.
‘The way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable and kudos to her for that.’
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 shocked, 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, going on to admit that he was ‘drained’ by the end of the day, while Erica was said to be crying.
But the Northern Irishman offered reassurances as he and the team celebrated their triumph.
‘Erica is fine,’ he said. ‘She is a very, very strong woman. 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.
Team Europe staved off a dramatic comeback from the USA to lift yet another Ryder Cup
European captain Luke Donald is sprayed with champagne after leading his team to an 11th Ryder Cup in their last 15
Shane Lowry (left), seen celebrating with McIlroy, said Stoll had received ‘astonishing’ abuse
Rory McIlroy refused to play a Ryder Cup shot as the abuse from the crowd became too heavy
‘We shut them up by our performance and how we played… and we’re going to party like there’s no tomorrow’.
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 on the day 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.
They had survived one of the most hostile atmospheres in recent memory and neutralised a flock of stars.
Scottie Scheffler went 0-4 in team play, with Bryson DeChambeau not much better at 1-3.
Harris English, Collin Moriwaka, and Russell Henley all finished with 0.5 points; Scheffler, Ben Griffin, and Sam Burns were not much better on one.
Winning captain Luke Donald paid an emotional tribute to his team and their legacy, saying: ‘Ryder Cup weeks are the best weeks of our lives. We talk about this all the time. Those individual accolades are fun, individually we want to achieve as much as we can.
At the end of an emotional week, McIlroy kisses his wife Erica at the Ryder Cup where Europe beat the US 15-13
Team Europe captain Donald celebrates with McIlroy by his side after Europe’s historic win on US soil
McIlroy celebrates with European fans after winning the Ryder Cup on American soil
McIlroy took a swig from a champagne bottle as the celebrations commenced in New York
Hero Shane Lowry with the Ryder Cup under US captain Keegan Bradley’s infamous statement before the match began
The President sent his congratulations to the European team after video emerged of Rory and the victorious golfers chanting: ‘Are you watching, are you watching Donald Trump?’
‘Rory has achieved so much in the game. His place in history is set.
‘But I think those weeks we spend together are the ones we remember and cherish the most because of the times we get to spend with each other.
‘That’s a big part of my captaincy, creating an environment where these guys are having the best weeks of their lives.
‘We’ll always remember this. This will always go down in history.
‘We talk about all the people who came before us that paved the way for us.
‘Now future generations will talk about this team tonight and what they did and how they were able to overcome one of the toughest environments in sport.
‘That is insipring to me and that’s what Rory gets and all these other 11 guys get as well.’
