Rory McIlroy says PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague has sent a personal apology for the abuse he and his wife suffered during their European Ryder Cup win in New York.
Europe held off a stirring fightback from the United States at Bethpage Black, where the Americans fell short after falling behind 12-5 in the final session before returning in singles.
Luke Donald’s team, and especially McIlroy, suffered three days of unsavory abuse from the partisan crowd, with beer thrown by the crowd hitting the hat of McIlroy’s wife Erica.
But McIlroy later received a “lovely letter” from Sprague to smooth things over.
“I got a nice email from Derek Sprague apologizing,” McIlroy said. BBC Sports Preparing for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
“Erica previously worked with Derek at the PGA of America, so we know him and his wife pretty well.
“He couldn’t have been more gracious, more unapologetic and wrote us a lovely letter. We were so grateful.”
US captain Keegan Bradley refused to criticize the “passionate” home fans at Bethpage, where McIlroy felt the hostile atmosphere had actually irritated Europe.
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Rory McIlroy has criticized the American crowd in Bethpage after a series of unpleasant incidents at the Ryder Cup.
“I take it as a compliment that they targeted me, but at the same time it was a tough week,” McIlroy said.
“It made us better as a team. It energized us and made us put our arms around each other.”
Masters champion McIlroy is aiming to cap off a memorable year as he prepares for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
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Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose have all experienced some turmoil in their Ryder Cup singles matches.
“I think about the last time I was here in January 2025 and everything that’s happened since,” said McIlroy, who also won the Players Championship, Pebble Beach Pro-Am and Irish Open.
“Honestly, I never dreamed that a year like this was possible, and it’s been an amazing 10 months.”
Meanwhile, McIlroy recently reflected on LIV Golf’s move from three rounds to 72 holes in line with golf’s traditional four rounds to gain recognition in the World Golf Rankings.
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Rory McIlroy had some stern words for the American crowd before hitting one of the shots of the week on the 16th hole of the Ryder Cup.
“I think this is an unusual move, because they were able to get ranking points with three rounds. I don’t think three rounds versus four rounds is going to hold them back,” McIlroy said.
“It’s definitely closer to a traditional golf tournament than what we’ve been doing. It brings them back to something that isn’t really an annihilator and kind of brings them more in line with what other people are doing.
“Their field strength will be so weak, I don’t know if ranking points will actually help them since there are a lot of guys who haven’t earned ranking points in a long time and have already fallen down the rankings.”
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Rory McIlroy has described LIV Golf’s decision to expand the event to 72 holes as ‘unusual’. The circuit was set up to be more suited to golf’s traditional tours, moving from three to four rounds.
What’s next?
McIlroy returns to action at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship on November 6-9 and the DP World Tour Championship on November 13-16. Both matches will be broadcast live on Sky Sports. Get Sky Sports now or stream with no contract.
