Pro golfer Rory McIlroy joked that police dogs should have been “let off the leashes” to deal with unruly American fans at Bethpage Black, where heckling turned into abuse during the 2025 Ryder Cup.

McIlroy, 36, delivered the tongue-in-cheek line during Team Europe’s winning press conference on Sunday, September 28, as he reflected on a week of hostility from the New York crowd.

“I wish they had let the dogs off the leashes,” McIlroy said with a laugh. “The police out there and the amount of security presence was insane. Look, nothing was going to happen. There wasn’t going to be a physical altercation, [but] there was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behaviour. We shouldn’t ever accept that in golf.”

The five-time Ryder Cup champion said the abuse wore on him through

See Full Page