THINGS didn’t quite go to plan for Europe and Rory McIlroy in the 2016 Ryder Cup as America snatched the honour with a 17-11 victory at Hazeltine on Sunday.
McIlroy, the only Irish player representing Europe, lost to Patrick Reed on the 18th hole as America dominated four of the five sessions.
Gloating American spectators took their taunting a little too far for McIlroy’s liking at one point though, with the Holywood native stopping to confront one fan in particular en route to the eighth tee on Saturday.
According to eye witnesses, McIlroy was verbally abused about his ex-girlfriend, tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, which was the last straw.
After confronting the individual, McIlroy called over security to have the heckler removed from the course.
Watch the tense confrontation in the video below
Heckler just told Rory to "suck a dick" and him coming up short was why Wozniacki "left his ass"?#RyderCup pic.twitter.com/uBU72xPoGt
— NateTheGreat (@NatE_AndersoN22) October 1, 2016
Darren Clarke's side were, disastrously, 4-0 down after the opening morning’s foursomes, but fought back to 5-3 in the following fourballs on Friday afternoon.
On Saturday, despite Rory McIlroy winning two points for his side, the American’s protected their advantage and ended day two three clear on nine and a half points to Europe’s six and a half.
The final day’s play saw the USA continue to dominate the Europeans, winning seven of the 12 singles, as they triumphed to win the illustrious Ryder Cup for the first time since 2008.
Europe’s margin of defeat was the biggest since 1981 and has sparked criticism of captain Clarke over his wildcard picks and also his team selections.
However, the County Tyrone native insists he does not regret his decisions.
"Hindsight is a wonderful thing but even with that we wouldn't have made any changes," Clarke told BBC Sport.
"I have spoken about this already to my vice-captains and we were confident."
