FARMINGDALE, N. Y. (AP) — With the match tightening and the crowd taunting him, Rory McIlroy backed off his approach shot from the rough on the 16th hole at Bethpage Black and shouted “Shut the (expletive) up!” — an outburst picked up by a TV microphone positioned right next to him at the Ryder Cup.
Then he stepped in, hit that approach to 3 feet and his teammate, Tommy Fleetwood, made the putt to cap Europe’s 3-and-2 victory Saturday over Collin Morikawa and Harris English.
It was the second foursomes victory for the team called “Fleetwood Mac” over the American pairing of Morikawa and English. It came after the Americans had won two straight holes to turn a blowout into something a bit different.
McIlroy said in a radio interview afterward that he didn’t mind fans “having a go at us,” but he said it’s disrespectful for the taunts to continue once a player is over his ball.
The victory helped give Europe a lead of 7 1/2-3 1/2 with one match left on the course in the morning. The Europeans were guaranteed to head into the afternoon fourball matches with the lead.
In a brief TV interview after the win, McIlroy was asked about the need to stay focused when playing in front of a hostile crowd.
“You do,” he said. “You've got to really have focus on the task at hand. In the team format, foursomes or fourballs, you can stick together with your partner and it makes it a little bit easier."
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