Rory McIlroy has predicted an explosive and hostile atmosphere when the Ryder Cup heads to Bethpage Black next year, warning that Europe’s players will need to “protect each other” if they are to withstand the intensity of a New York crowd out for revenge.
The Masters champion, who played a pivotal role in Europe’s 16½–11½ victory in Rome in 2023, says it is “inevitable” that tempers will flare again as Team USA look to reclaim the trophy on home soil.
“I think it’s inevitable something is going to happen in New York,” McIlroy told The Guardian.
“It might not involve me but it is inevitable that something will happen, whether like in Rome last time or something else.
“When you go into that environment and you are there for five or six days and the crowd are on you for eight hours, so many days in a row … it is inevitable it will get to someone or get to us as a group at some point.
“We are just going to have to do a really good job of managing that, having each other’s backs and protecting each other.”
McIlroy, 36, was at the centre of the drama during the final day in Rome when he clashed with Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava, who celebrated wildly after his player holed a crucial putt.
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Rory McIlroy has predicted an explosive and hostile atmosphere when the Ryder Cup heads to Bethpage Black next year, warning that Europe’s players will need to “protect each other” if they are to withstand the intensity of a New York crowd out for revenge
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McIlroy confronted LaCava on the green before later being involved in a heated exchange with Jim “Bones” Mackay, Justin Thomas’s caddie, in the car park.
The Northern Irishman had to be physically guided away by team-mate Shane Lowry and later admitted the incident had fired him up ahead of his singles match, where he beat Sam Burns to help secure Europe’s emphatic victory.
But McIlroy’s comments reflect the growing expectation that Bethpage – one of the most boisterous venues in American golf – will test the mental resolve of the European team like few Ryder Cups before it.
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Rory McIlroy lost his cool at the 2023 Ryder Cup
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GETTYThe New York crowd is renowned for its partisanship and tensions, as a result, are expected to run high.
The intensity is such that some have even suggested the families of players should stay away.
Former European Ryder Cup player Andrew Coltart recalled the abuse partners received during the infamous 1999 edition at Brookline.
“Some of the wives and girlfriends had been getting abuse from the crowd,” Coltart told Sky Sports.
“It was just normal derogatory things that, unfortunately, you would expect from a group of blokes that probably had too much to drink.
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GETTY“For Bethpage Black, I offered up the suggestion that it might not be a great idea to go out there and they can watch it from a room where it’s safe and secure.
“Nobody wants their wife or partner to be abused, and there’s no way the crowd control and the stewards are going to be able to stop that.”
McIlroy has made no secret of his desire to win an away Ryder Cup – something he sees as one of the greatest achievements in golf.
And he believes Europe have the form and continuity under captain Luke Donald to cause another upset on US soil.
