Police intervene as Rory McIlroy's wife forced to leave and Shane Lowry almost confronts fan at Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry overcame shocking abuse at the Ryder Cup in New York to help Europe all-but seal the trophy with a day to spare.

As the visitors built the biggest day-two lead in modern Ryder Cup history (11-and-a-half to 4-and-a-half), fans at Bethpage Black stole headlines for the wrong reasons.

At times, McIlroy and Lowry needed to be escorted around the golf course by state police as spectators overstepped the mark in New York and turned the famous event into a farce.

After a hostile reception on Friday afternoon , the two Europe stars were singled out for abuse in the top fourball match against Justin Thomas and Cam Young.

talkSPORT heard comments aimed at McIlroy about his marriage to Erica Stoll and insults fired at Lowry over his weight.

It later emerged that St