Sprague told The Athletic the organization will “do better” after European star McIlroy endured a barrage of verbal abuse at the Ryder Cup on Long Island — a week that saw heckling spill into personal attacks and sparked widespread backlash, as Daily Voice reported.
Sprague, who became CEO in January, told the outlet he was “really, really, really disappointed” with fan behavior at Bethpage Black and has personally apologized to McIlroy and his wife, Erica.
“I sent a long email to share with Rory and Erica and just told him that we will do better in the future,” Sprague told The Athletic. “I’m the CEO now. I don’t condone this type of behavior. This is not good for the game of golf. It’s not good for the Ryder Cup. It’s not good for any of the professional athletes, and we will do better.”
The issue came to a head Saturday, Sept. 27, when Ryder Cup emcee Heather McMahan grabbed a megaphone on the first tee and promoted the chant “F— you, Rory.” Sprague said he and other PGA leaders immediately agreed “She’s done.”
McMahan later apologized, saying on her podcast it was “so foolish and so silly of me,” and resigned from her role by Sunday.
‘Disappointed In Fan Behavior’
McIlroy, the face of the European team, won both of his matches Saturday while hearing jeers about his personal life, homophobic slurs, and expletives during his backswing.
At one point, a drink struck his wife, Erica. The tension boiled over when McIlroy and playing partner Shane Lowry hurled expletives back at the crowd.
Sprague stressed that the worst offenders were “an extremely small minority,” but still unacceptable.
“It’s hard to define what crosses the line, right?” he told The Athletic. “You almost have to be there, and when we were getting reports of those incidents … we threw out a number of people, or we moved people to other places away from the matches if they were heckling certain players.”
The PGA worked with the DP World Tour, state police, and private security to protect players and their families, he added.
Clashing Comments
Not all leaders struck the same tone. PGA president Don Rea drew criticism after telling BBC Sport that “things like that are going to happen,” and comparing the abuse to a youth soccer game.
When pressed on McIlroy’s’s abuse, he said, “I haven’t heard some of that. I’m sure it’s happened. It happened when we were in Rome on the other side, and Rory understands.”
Looking Ahead To Ireland
The next Ryder Cup is set for 2027 at Adare Manor in Ireland, where McIlroy will again be central. Both he and Sprague say the focus must shift back to sportsmanship.
“Look, I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf,” McIlroy said after Europe’s victory. “I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.”
Sprague echoed that sentiment. “We will make sure that we focus on what the Ryder Cup is all about,” he told The Athletic.
“It’s about decorum and sportsmanship and integrity. The game has the highest values in all of sports, and we need to sort of have a guiding light to focus on from both sides of every match.”
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