Rory McIlroy's wife Erica Stoll showed true colours in response to Ryder Cup abuse

Rory McIlroy's wife, Erica Stoll, bravely chose to stay on the course at Bethpage Black Golf Course rather than retreating to safety from the unruly Ryder Cup spectators. During Saturday's four-ball match alongside Shane Lowry, McIlroy faced constant heckling from the boisterous New York crowd.

The chaotic behaviour from fans reached new heights when one supporter allegedly threw a drink at the Northern Irishman, but it hit his wife instead. McIlroy was spotted consoling Stoll and wiping something from her hat whilst enquiring: "Are you OK?" A Team Europe source disclosed that provisions were put in place to remove players' wives and partners from the course when the atmosphere became heated.

Nevertheless, Stoll opted to stay put, prompting the insider to comment: "She is a tough cookie."

Several of McIlroy's team-mates offered similar admiration during a post-victory press conference.

"The Americans said in the buildup that they want them to bring the chaos. And they did," Shane Lowry said.

"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."

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."

Discussing the incident involving his partner, McIlroy condemned the "unacceptable behaviour" of spectators whilst lauding Stoll's strength and composure. "It should be off-limits, but obviously it wasn't this week," McIlroy declared.

"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."

When addressing future Ryder Cups, McIlroy stressed that the shameful conduct at Bethpage must never be tolerated again at the esteemed tournament. "I don't think we should ever accept that in golf," he stated.

"I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week. Golf has the ability to you unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. 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. But you know, we will be making sure to say to our fans in Ireland in 2027 that what happened here this week is not acceptable, and for me, it's - you know, come and support your home team. Come and support your team."