Rory McIlroy said that PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague has sent a personal apology for the abuse directed at him and his wife during Europe’s Ryder Cup victory in New York.
Europe held off a stirring fightback from the U.S. at Bethpage Black, where the Americans had gone into the final session 12-5 down before mounting a comeback in the singles, only to come up short.
Luke Donald’s team — and McIlroy in particular — were on the end of abuse from a partisan crowd across the three days, with a beer from the crowd hitting McIlroy’s wife, Erica. The number of insults and jeers, some that occurred as he was in the process of hitting a shot, caused delays and led the PGA of America to add extra security.
“I got a lovely email from Derek Sprague apologizing,” McIlroy told BBC Sport as he prepared for the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship.
“Erica worked with Derek at the PGA of America back in the day, so we know Derek and his wife pretty well. He couldn’t have been more gracious or apologetic and he wrote us a lovely letter, which we really appreciated.”
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Sprague had said last month that he planned to issue an apology to McIlroy and his wife.
U.S. captain Keegan Bradley didn’t condemn the “passionate” home fans at Bethpage, where McIlroy felt the hostile atmosphere actually spurred Europe on.
“I take it as a compliment that they targeted me, but then at the same time, it was a tough week,” McIlroy said. “That made us better as a team. It galvanized us and it really put our arms around each other.”
In his first public comments since the Ryder Cup loss, Bradley said recently, “There’s no part of me that thinks I’ll ever get over this.”
Masters champion McIlroy is aiming to cap a memorable year as he prepares for the season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
“I think back to the start in January of 2025 when I was last here and everything that’s happened since,” said McIlroy, who also won the Players Championship, the Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Irish Open.
“Honestly, in my wildest dreams, I didn’t know. I mean, I knew a year like this was possible, but it has just been an amazing 10 months.”
Information from PA was used in this report.
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