Rory McIlroy has spoken out about the abuse that Team Europe have been receiving from American fans throughout the Ryder Cup.
Europe are chasing Team US by 9½ to 6½ after two days of competition and with McIlrroy's team needing 7½ points from today's 12 singles in order to retain the trophy, precise concentration is paramount for the team.
But a cohort of fans in the crowd have been attracting criticism for shouting abuse about the players. One fan was heard to directly insult Sergio Garcia, saying 'Sergio you suck'.
McIlroy, however, refused to stand for the disrespectful treatment.
Speaking to the BBC, the 27-year-old, who won his fourball yesterday alongside Thomas Pieters, detailed how he reached boiling point and felt compelled to confront the belligerent fan.
"Someone said a few derogatory things I thought were over the line. That particular guy, who is in a small minority, just took it a bit too far."
It was not clarified if the fan was ejected from the Hazeltine grounds. McIlroy and rookie Pieters were the only winners for Europe in yesterday's afternoon fourball session and given their disastrous 4-0 defeat to the US in Friday's morning session, they need the majority of the remaining battles to go their way.
But despite the "tough environment", McIlroy said that the heckling is actually having the opposite effect.
"It fuelled me a lot. The more they shouted, the better we played, so I hope they shout at us all day on Sunday."
Amidst the rumblings in the crowd, the US golfers have tried to quieten the mob including Jordan Spieth and one of the vice-captains Tom Lehman.
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