European captain Luke Donald accused American fans of “crossing the line” after a fractious second day at the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
According to The National, the visiting players, most notably Rory McIlroy, were subjected to heckling throughout both sessions of Saturday’s play.
Comments were repeatedly aimed at McIlroy as he prepared to play shots. At one point in the morning the Northern Irishman shouted at a fan and his afternoon match was held up a number of times as appeals for calm, some from opponent Justin Thomas, were made.
Donald said, “It was loud, it was raucous. What I consider crossing the line is personal insults and making sounds when they are trying to hit on their backswings or very close to when they are trying to go into their routines. That did happen a little bit.”
Much had been made of the hostile reception Europe were likely to be given by a boisterous, partisan New York crowd.
Ultimately, they shut out the noise to win both sessions convincingly on Saturday and open up a commanding 11.5-4.5 lead.
“It’s something we prepared for and we can see, I think, how well they have dealt with it,” Donald said.
US captain Keegan Bradley reacted angrily to suggestions that he or his players might have been responsible for some of the more unsavoury aspects of crowd behaviour.
