Rory McIlroy’s wife Erica's powerful response to physical and verbal abuse from golf fans at competition
Topics: Celebrity, Sport, Sex and Relationships
Rhiannon Ingle
Featured Image Credit: David Cannon/Getty Images
Topics: Celebrity, Sport, Sex and Relationships
Rory McIlroy’s wife, Erica Stoll, had a very powerful response after enduring physical and verbal abuse from golf fans over the weekend.
For those who may not be in the sporting loop, Team Europe won the Ryder Cup, beating the United States 15-13 at Bethpage Black in New York on Sunday (28 September).
The major golf event, which takes place every two years, sees 24 of the best players from Europe and the US go head-to-head in match play competition.
Now, during this year's Ryder Cup, McIlroy faced relentless heckling from the American crowd, with the rowdy behaviour reaching a peak when one supporter allegedly threw a drink at the Northern Irishman, but it appeared to hit his wife instead.
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Despite being hit with the beer, Erica made the decision to stay on the course with several of McIlroy's teammates rushing in to share their admiration of how the mother-of-one handled the ordeal.
Speaking at a post-victory press conference, Irish pro Shane Lowry said: "The Americans said in the buildup that they want them to bring the chaos. And they did.
"But the stuff Erica McIlroy had to listen to for a few days, it was horrible, fair play to her for doing what she did. Being out there supporting her husband and the team, she was probably the big winner in my eyes this week. A strong woman, fair play to her."
Meanwhile, English golfer Justin Rose added: "I actually had no idea that Erica had a beer thrown at her yesterday, so fair play to Erica. She didn't bring that to the team room. We didn't make that a big deal. That's news to me. That says a lot about the strength of Erica and everybody on this team."
McIlroy himself condemned the 'unacceptable behaviour' of spectators, saying: "It should be off-limits, but obviously it wasn't this week."
He went on to assure: "Erica is fine. She’s a very, very strong woman. You know, she handled everything this week with class and poise and dignity like she always has. I love her and we’re going to have a good time celebrating tonight."
"I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf," McIlroy continued. "I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week. Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons.
"It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people. Sometimes this week we didn’t see that. So no, this should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup. We will be making sure to say to our fans in Ireland in 2027 that what happened here this week is not acceptable."