Rory McIlroy mocked with Amanda Balionis chants in Ryder Cup loss | Golf | Sport
Rory McIlroy lost his Ryder Cup singles match to Scottie Scheffler last night as the world No.1 avoided becoming the first American to go 0-5. But by the end of a third day of unrelenting hostility from the crowd, the Ulsterman just looked like he wanted to go home.
Scheffler took a scrappy encounter between the two best players in the world on the 18th green one up. Yet golf etiquette – and sheer human decency – has not been the winner at Bethpage Black this week. And Europe’s top player looked worn down by the personal abuse directed at him and his team-mates on Long Island. It was not quite as bad as Saturday during the Sunday singles but bad enough from a passionate and patriotic crowd.
And Keegan Bradley, who refused to condemn the crowd behaviour on Saturday night, raced across Bethpage Black to question a refereeing decision like a football manager during Justin Rose’s defeat.
The top two players had entered this Sunday showdown in contrasting form with McIlroy unbeaten and Scheffler the first American to lose all four pairs matches.
The Ulsterman was accompanied on the first tee by Europe’s burliest vice-captain Thomas Bjorn and the vocal support of European fans. To the tune of The Cranberries’ song Zombie, the chant was: “He’s in your head, Rory.”
The Masters champion was booed when he backed off his chip to the first. And American voices were chanting: “Amanda, Amanda” – in reference to US TV presenter Amanda Balionis who was linked with McIlroy after he announced his divorce last year – as he stood over his putt. The Ulsterman’s face as he walked off the first green showed he was hating the experience.
World No.1 Scheffler endured a different ordeal this week and the second hole summed up his play. A pulled 3-wood off the tee into the rough was followed then knifed his approach from 126 yards over the putting surface. His first chip did not reach the putting surface and his second lipped out for bogey.
McIlroy drained his 18-foot birdie to take the lead before Scheffler levelled with his first birdie on No.4, but the day was taking its toll on the Ulsterman. On the 10th tee, he backed off when he was disturbed by the noise of the squeaky toy. The world No.2 then hooked his drive into a fairway bunker on the way to a painful bogey. He rebounded to level the match with a 32-foot birdie putt on 11.
But when he missed the green on the par-3 14th, the strain showed on his face and he duffed his chip for a bogey. Needing to win the final hole to tie the match, McIlroy found a fairway bunker off the tee and could not force a dramatic finale. The match, like his Ryder Cup, just fizzled out. But thanks to Irishman Shane Lowry’s heroics – that didn’t matter.
