Rory McIlroy has claimed that a few fans crossed the line during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, as abusive comments were directed at his wife, Erica Stoll, and their five-year-old daughter, Poppy. Speaking on “The Overlap” podcast, McIlroy described the situation as “horrific.”

He said he could ignore insults aimed at him, but not when his family was targeted.

“I don’t care if people are saying whatever they’re saying to me,” McIlroy said, referring to abuse he heard even before teeing off.

Rory McIlroy added that while his wife Erica could handle criticism, remarks involving his daughter were unacceptable.

“When it starts to get into your family, I heard stuff about my daughter that I couldn’t even repeat here. It’s horrific,” McIlroy said.

Reports at the time said the issue was discussed internally. The Telegraph reported that Europe captain Luke Donald and team officials had agreed on “red lines” before the event. Play could have been stopped if fans disrupted players during shots, though officials later assured teams that the situation would be handled without stopping play.

Rory McIlroy says U.S. captain Keegan Bradley could have stepped in to address the abuse but didn’t

Rory McIlroy has said that United States Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley missed a chance to address fan behavior during last year’s tournament. McIlroy believes Bradley could have helped calm the situation.

He said he understands using home support as an advantage, but felt there was room to act when things went hostile. He explained that comments heard on the course created a toxic environment for the visiting team as well.

“During the competition on Friday night and Saturday night, after the stuff that we heard on the course, there was an opportunity for either Keegan or some of the team-mates to be like: ‘Let’s just calm down here. Let’s try to play this match in the right spirit,’” Rory McIlroy said.

“Some of them did that, but obviously Keegan had the biggest platform of the week in being the captain. I feel like he could have said something on that Friday or Saturday night, and he didn’t,” he added.

Bradley defended home fans during the Ryder Cup in September. Golf reported that he pushed back on claims that U.S. players encouraged the crowd, saying the reaction was driven by passion, as the home side fell behind. He also admitted that some fans crossed the line.

Team Europe beat the U.S. 15-13 at Bethpage Black, becoming the first away side to win the event since 2012.