Furious Rory McIlroy tells American Ryder Cup fans to 'shut the f*** up' in heated on-course incident

An angry Rory McIlroy told Ryder Cup fans to 'shut the f*** up' on Saturday during a heated moment at Bethpage Black.

McIlroy was preparing to hit the ball on the 16th fairway when several American fans began shouting nearby - with one seemingly shouting 'freedom' before another chimed in.

And the Northern Irishman was not happy with the interruption as he quickly scolded the fans, saying: 'Guys, shut the f*** up!'

The remark drew some jeers from the crowd as McIlroy stepped away from the ball to regroup.

On Friday, McIlroy  - who is being cheered on by his wife Erica Stoll - also appeared to give the middle finger to fans during the opening day of the tournament.

During the fourth and final match of that afternoon, McIlroy and Shane Lowry were heckled throughout by the American crowd. 

And after they went two-up at the 11th hole, McIlroy was seemingly triggered by something that was said from the hostile New York crowd.

As he walked off the green alongside Lowry, it looked as if the reigning Masters champion raised his middle finger towards fans. 

McIlroy's blow-up on Saturday comes after he initially tried a friendlier approach with the crowd earlier in the day.

He was targeted by a loud chorus of 'F*** you, Rory', from the crowd after being introduced for his foursomes match alongside Tommy Fleetwood.

However, after appearing to flash his middle finger the day before, McIlroy chose to react by blowing the fans in the main stand a kiss.

It's not the first time that McIlroy has gotten fired up during the Ryder Cup.

Two years ago in Rome, McIlroy and his Team Europe teammates were left incensed when Joe LaCava, Patrick Cantlay's caddie, celebrated in front of him and entered his line of vision as he prepared for a crucial putt.

Tensions later spilled over onto the car park, as a raging McIlroy could be heard shouting ‘This can’t happen, this can’t happen – it’s a f*****g disgrace' at LaCava.

Another US caddie, Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay also appeared to try and assuage the situation before a security guard attempted to step in. Irishman Shane Lowry then intervened and led a still-seething McIlroy to a waiting BMW 4x4.

Fred Couples later revealed that the row began with LaCava telling McIlroy to 'relax.'

'I asked [LaCava] what was said. He said Rory looked at him and said, 'Mooove'. And he made the 'ooo' last a little longer. And Joe replied, 'Relax, Rory,' Couples said on his SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show.

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