Paul Azinger wants Rory McIlroy to pick a lane.
Reflecting on the aftermath of a rowdy Ryder Cup weekend at Bethpage Black, Azinger — who captained the Americans to a win in 2008 — called out the reigning Masters champion over his conflicting remarks about the hostile fan behavior exhibited when he was leaning into it himself.
“Today in the press conference, after it’s over, he’s saying, ‘I think golf should be held to a higher standard of decorum.’ Isn’t that what he said? But in the meantime, he says, ‘F-you, F-you, F-you’ in full voice for the world to see. He turns around and says to the guy, ‘Shut the eff up,’ the guy in the media asked him today, ‘How did that feel, Rory, to tell the guy to shut the eff up and then hit it two feet?’ And he said, ‘It felt pretty effing good,’ and I’m like, bud, which is it, Rory?” Azinger said Sunday on GOLF’s “Subpar” program.
The interactions between McIlroy, 36, and the boisterous Long Island crowd dominated headlines throughout the Ryder Cup.
Tensions boiled over Saturday when McIlroy told spectators to “shut the f–k up” before hitting a shot and relayed on a different hole to a course referee he wouldn’t putt until the crowd “shut up.”
As the day continued, McIlroy demanded a fan get the boot for hurling a homophobic slur at the Northern Irishman, while his wife, Erica Stoll, also grappled with a rogue drink being swatted in her direction.
“I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf,” McIlroy said Sunday after Europe’s 15-13 win over the Americans. “I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week. Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people.”
Based on those remarks, Azinger had questions for McIlroy.
“Is it that golf is held to a higher standard? Or are you just going to eff you the fans and act like that’s okay?” Azinger, 65, said. “I love Rory, you know that, but you can’t say that. You can’t say the fans need to behave better and then in the meantime, lay them to waste.
“… You can’t do both. You got to be one or the other.”
With the Ryder Cup heading back across the pond to Ireland for 2027, McIlroy added Sunday that what was conveyed stateside is “not acceptable.”
“This should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said. “But you know, we will be making sure to say to our fans in Ireland in 2027 that what happened here this week is not acceptable.”
The Golf Course at Adare Manor will play host in two years.