Rory McIlroy gets apology from chief over wife Erica Stoll incident | Golf | Sport

Rory McIlroy has revealed that he received an apology from PGA of America boss Derek Sprague following the abuse he and his wife Erica Stoll suffered at the Ryder Cup. During the Saturday action last month, Erica was struck by a tossed beer while McIlroy was the subject of constant abuse throughout the competition.

The incident happened on the 17th hole at Bethpage Black during McIlroy’s match alongside Shane Lowry. Europe went on to beat the United States 15-13 over the weekend.

“Erica is fine,” he said at the time. “She’s a strong woman. She handled everything this week with clss and poise and dignity like she always has. I love her and we’re going to have a good time celebrating.”

In the aftermath of the competition, Sprague promised to get in contact with the pair and speaking ahead of this week’s Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, McIlroy confirmed he had received a message.

“I got a lovely email from Derek Sprague apologising,” he told BBC Sport. “Erica worked with Derek at the PGA of America back in the day so we know Derek and his wife pretty well.

“He couldn’t have been more gracious or apologetic and he wrote us a lovely letter,” which we really appreciated.” The Masters champion added that he took the criticism aimed at him by the US supporters as a “compliment”.

“I take it as a compliment that they targeted me,” he said. “But then at the same time, it was a tough week. That made us better as a team. It galvanised us and it really put our arms around each other.”

McIlroy went on to state that he doesn’t want Europe’s performance to be overshadowed by the crowd trouble. The Ryder Cup triumph continued what he calls “the season of his golfing life” after success at the Players Championship, Pebble Beach and the Irish Open.

This week, McIlroy is now targeting success in Abu Dhabi before turning his focus to the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai. He is currently the frontrunner to win a seventh Race to Dubai title, though he narrowly leads England’s Marco Penge.

“I remember trying to win my first race to Dubai in 2009 and going up against Lee Westwood for those last couple of events,” McIlroy said. “I was motivated and hungry and really wanted to do it and I’m sure that’s exactly how Marco feels. So it’s going to be an exciting couple of weeks.”