Rory McIlroy has simple comeback for Team USA | Golf News

Rory McIlroy and US followers at the Ryder Cup have a mutual dislike for each other.

However, on Saturday, McIlroy responded to early heckling from Team USA followers at Bethpage Black by blowing them kisses from the first tee. He was partnered with Tommy Fleetwood, taking on Harris English and Collin Morikawa for the second time in this Ryder Cup; the European pair had simply defeated the Americans on Friday, sustaining their unbeaten 5-0 Ryder Cup report.

Throughout the week at Bethpage Black, McIlroy has been the goal of widespread scorn. The Northern Irishman was greeted with a harsh three-word chant before even hitting a ball at the start of Friday’s foursomes.

By the afternoon fourballs, he was paired with close good friend and fellow countryman Shane Lowry, and Team Europe was main after Team USA had a disastrous start, leaving followers quiet and Bryson DeChambeau embarrassed.

However, when enjoying against Sam Burns and Patrick Cantlay with Lowry, McIlroy responded to jeers by flipping off followers.

As he ready to tee off on Saturday, McIlroy once again reacted to taunts from rival followers who greeted him on the tee with chants of ‘ass—-!” and “F— you Rory!”

The five-time major champion smiled as he absorbed their chants before blowing a series of kisses toward the grandstand.

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Fan behavior has emerged as a burning issue leading up to the tournament, with US rival Justin Thomas drawing a clear line for supporters in New York regarding the appropriate heckling of players.

Speaking before the competition began, McIlroy addressed the difficulty of competing in an unusual and hostile atmosphere on American soil.

“I believe everybody has to discover their own steadiness of what works for them or what – you recognize, we’re enjoying in an surroundings that we’re not actually used to or we do not get to play in very often,” McIlroy told reporters.

“I’m very fortunate, I get a lot of assist just about all over the place I am going when I play golf, and it is going to really feel a little different for me this week. But that’s to be anticipated, and that’s completely comprehensible.

“I feel at times in the Ryder Cup, I have engaged too much with that, too much with the crowd. But then there’s times where I haven’t engaged enough.

“So it is actually just making an attempt to discover the steadiness of utilizing that power from the gang to fuel your efficiency. I felt like at Hazeltine, I in all probability engaged an excessive amount of at instances, and then Whistling Straits, I did not interact enough and felt fairly flat because of it.

“It’s just trying to find that balance. I can’t tell anyone on the team what that balance is. They really have to find it themselves. But that’s the challenge of playing away, right.”

McIlroy is still on the hunt for the proper steadiness over the next couple of days. He’s aiming to contribute another level to Europe’s 5 1/2 rating and secure a memorable victory with a flourish.