Former USA captain Tom Watson has issued an apology to Team Europe over the ‘rude’ and ‘mean-spirited’ abuse they received during their triumph at Bethpage Black.
The visitors held off a spirited late fightback from the USA to successfully retain their title, with Shane Lowry holing the decisive putt in a pulsating climax in New York.
Having been seven points in front at the end of the penultimate day, Europe clung on to prevail as 15-13 winners, two years on from a comprehensive victory in Rome when they were also captained by Luke Donald.
This year’s contest will undoubtedly be remembered for the quality of golf on show throughout the three days, but it will also go down as one of the most controversial and bad-tempered in history.
Rory McIlory and fourball partner Lowry were subjected to relentless taunts, jeers and unsavoury comments over the course of their encounter with American duo Justin Thomas and Cameron Young.
Lowry had one especially abusive fan ejected for disrupting his shot on the 16th hole, while McIlroy was heard telling a heckler to ‘shut the f*** up’ as tempers flared on day two.
At one stage, McIlroy’s wife, Erica Stoll, was struck by a flying drink, with the Northern Irishman condemning their treatment, joking: ‘I wish they [the police] had let the dogs off their leashes!
‘The police out there and the amount of security presence was insane.’
‘Look, nothing was going to happen. There wasn’t going to be physical altercation but there was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behaviour.’
The 2025 Masters champion added: ‘We shouldn’t ever accept that in golf. It was a rough week for all of us, but at the same time, we shut them up by our performance and how we played.
‘I chirped back a few times 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.’
The abuse spilled over to such a degree that Ryder Cup MC Heather McMahan made the decision to step down from her position after encouraging chants of ‘f*** you, Rory’ in the crowd.
US captain Keegan Bradley refused to condemn home fans for their conduct, arguing instead that he thought the spectators were merely displaying their ‘passion’ in the heat of battle.
Donald, though, players insisted some of the abuse had crossed a line – and golfing legend Watson took to X to back up these claims, saying he was ‘ashamed’ of what he had witnessed.
‘I’d like to congratulate Europe on their victory,’ the three-time Ryder Cup winner tweeted.
‘Your team play the first few days was sensational.
‘More importantly, I’d like to apologise for the rude and mean-spirited behaviour from our American crowd at Bethpage.
‘As a former player, captain and as an American, I am ashamed of what happened.’
While Europe celebrated their title defence long into the night, reportedly racking up a £230,000 bar bill, a despondent Scottie Scheffler described the US’ defeat as one of the ‘lowest moments’ of his professional career.
‘My emotions on Saturday afternoon when the matches ended, I think it’s hard to put into words how much it hurts to lose all four matches,’ the world number one told reporters.
‘This week did not go how I anticipated it going for myself and I’m a little bit bummed.
‘To have the trust of my captains and team-mates to go out there and play all four matches and lose all four, it’s really hard to put into words how much that stings and hurts.
‘I’ll go back and reflect on that. But one of the coolest things was these guys picking me up on Saturday night.
‘The guys on this team, this is a really special group of guys. We have a special captain and I was proud to be standing there fighting with these guys.
‘It was probably one of the lowest moments of my career, but it turned out to be one of the most special, just because I’ve got great friends in this room and I was really proud to be battling with these guys for three days.’
Scheffler added: ‘Things just did not work out the way I anticipated, but I was proud to be able to get a point.
‘It’s tough, playing all five matches is a grind. Rory and I even chatted about that a little bit. It was a grind and I’m pretty tired, but I’m proud of the fight that our team showed.
‘It was a difficult week for me personally. I was just proud to get a point up on the board and keep this thing alive for a little bit longer.’
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.