The Ryder Cup has been marred by unsavoury scenes on Saturday, with police called to Bethpage Black to control the crowd as tensions boiled over in the stands
Tempers flared at the Ryder Cup, culminating in a violent brawl in the 18th green grandstand at Bethpage Black. The atmosphere was electric on Saturday, with Rory McIlroy bearing the brunt of heckling from the crowd, prompting the PGA of America to issue warnings in a bid to diffuse the situation.
As tensions between McIlroy and the spectators escalated, state police were deployed to Bethpage Black to restore order. A line of state troopers was positioned along the ropes of the match featuring McIlroy and Shane Lowry against Cameron Young and Justin Thomas, with police dogs also in attendance.
At one point, Lowry had to be restrained by his caddie to prevent him from confronting a spectator. Despite the risks of fan-on-fan violence at emotionally charged sports events, the situation had largely been contained until a fistfight erupted in the 18th green grandstand late in the day. Details of the altercation, including what sparked it and who was involved, remain unclear, but eyewitnesses described the scene as “ugly”.
The abuse directed at McIlroy, which led to an official complaint, had clearly taken its toll on Lowry, who had to be held back by his caddie. Throughout the event, European golfers have faced intense criticism from the gallery, with McIlroy subjected to chants of “F*** you, Rory” and relentless heckling at nearly every shot, reports the Mirror.
After taking his shot at the 11th hole, Lowry singled out a spectator who had made derogatory comments. The Irish golfer then moved towards the crowd, seemingly ready to confront them directly – but his caddie held him back, and security stepped in before things could escalate.
Earlier during the fourballs, Lowry lost his cool and shouted a two-word expletive at a spectator following his successful putt. This incident followed McIlroy’s own confrontation with a fan during the morning foursomes when he was paired with Tommy Fleetwood.
In other incidents, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, had a heated exchange with Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari.
Justin Rose asked DeChambeau’s caddie, Gregory Bodine, to move aside while he was reading his putt. After Rose sank his putt and celebrated with a fist pump, DeChambeau responded by sinking a birdie of his own.
As they left the green heading towards the 16th tee box, DeChambeau quickly caught up with his opponents and gave Fleetwood a piece of his mind following his team-mate’s gesture. Scott joined DeChambeau and spoke sternly to Rose until Molinari stepped in between the golfer and caddie.
Scott continued to berate Molinari, getting up close and personal with the Italian before Fleetwood and his caddie, Ian Finnis, intervened to separate the pair.
For Team USA, their battle was limited to off-field antics. Europe head into the final day of the Ryder Cup with a commanding 11.5-4.5 lead.
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