PGA of America chief apologises to Holywood star and wife Erica
PGA of America CEO Derek Sprague admitted that US Ryder Cup fans “crossed the line” and planned to apologise to Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica for what happened at Bethpage Black.
Sprague said on Golf Channel that he planned to apologise to McIlroy and his wife Erica, who was hit by a flying beer during the Ryder Cup.
"It's unfortunate that people crossed the line last week," Sprague said.
"There's no place for that at the Ryder Cup, no place for it in the game of golf and we are not happy with what happened last week."
He added: “I haven't spoken to Rory or Erica but I do plan on sending them an email with my heartfelt apologies because of what occurred.”
Former US Ryder Cup skipper Paul Azinger also hit out McIlroy for trying to have it both ways in his criticism of foul language by home fans in New York.
The home crowd targeted McIlroy consistently during all five matches he played in Europe’s 15-13 win.
McIlroy reacted several times to abusive fans and admitted after Europe’s heartstopping victory that he “chirped back because it got to me a few times, but we tried to handle everything that came our way with class and poise, and for the most part, I felt like we did that.
“It was a rough week for all of us. But at the same time, we shut them up by our performance."
The Holywood star also said that the abuse crossed a line.
“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 you 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.”
However, after hearing McIlroy say “It felt f**king good”, when asked how it felt to hit a shot to a few feet after first telling a heckling fan to “shut the f**k up”, winning 2008 captain Azinger took exception.
Speaking on the “Subpar” podcast, he expressed admiration for McIlroy for saying in Rome that they were going to New York to win.
“I give Rory credit for that,” Azinger said. “But now I want to take a shot at Rory, who I love…
“In the press conference after it’s over, he is saying that I think golf should be held to a higher standard of decorum, but in the meantime he says ‘F you, F you, F you’ in full voice for the world to see.
“He turns around and says to the guy, ‘Shut the F up.’ The guy in the media asks him, ‘How did that feel Rory, to tell him to shut up and then hit it to two feet?’ And he said, ‘It felt pretty f’ing good.’
“And I’m, like, which is it, Rory? Is it that golf is held to a higher standard or are you just going to ‘F you’ the fans and act that like that’s OK?
“So, I love Rory, but you can’t say that. You can’t say the fans need to behave better and then in the meantime lay them to waste.
“You can’t do both. You’ve got to be one or the other.”
Azinger said he was unsurprised by the behaviour of the fans, which today drew an apology from the CEO of the PGA of America, which organises the Ryder Cup in the US.
“Didn’t the PGA of America know when they came here what was going to happen?” Azinger said. “Of course, we all knew. We’ve all been talking about it for 10 years, that this crowd could go crazy. Hey, if the beers weren’t $16 a piece, it could have been worse.”
