The ringleader of the vile chants aimed at Rory McIlroy at the Ryder Cup has reportedly lost her job.
Heather McMahan, a well-known American actress and comedian, has reportedly stepped down from her role as the first tee emcee after leading chants against Rory McIlroy on Saturday.
Despite the relentless heckling, McIlroy and Team Europe managed to achieve a record-breaking lead of 11.5-4.5 as they headed into the final day at Bethpage Black.
During the afternoon’s fourballs match, McIlroy even paused play at one point with teammate Shane Lowry against Justin Thomas and Cameron Young.
And now McMahan, 38, has paid the price as the Sports Business Journal reports that she has relinquished her position.
Emcees and announcers are expected to be neutral and uphold sportsmanship, especially at red-letter events such as the Ryder Cup.
The ringleader of the vile chants against Rory McIlroy at the Ryder Cup has reportedly stepped away from her role
Heather McMahan, a comedian and actress by trade, led chants of ‘f*** you Rory’ when she was supposed to be a neutral emcee
McIlroy overcame repeated abuse throughout the day to help Team Europe set a record lead
McMahan, who was expected to lead chants supporting American star Bryson DeChambeau, instead used the megaphone to fuel the crowd with chants directed at McIlroy.
The Sports Business Journal claims that the PGA says she has since issued an apology to McIlroy.
McMahan is not an experienced sports figure but is instead successful in the entertainment industry.
Since 2019, she has hosted the ‘Absolutely Not’ podcast, which she describes as a ‘safe space for us to tell-all and b*** about the rest’.
She has also released two comedy specials with Netflix and Hulu and has amassed an Instagram army of 850,000 followers.
Her link to golf? Well, her husband, Jeff Daniels, is a keen golfer and she has described herself as a ‘golf widow’.
These actions affected McIlroy’s game, as he paused twice before taking his shot at the sixth hole, facing boos while waiting four minutes for the crowd to settle.
McIlroy did eventually take his shot from 34 feet, going on to make a par, and at least some of his vile detractors got their comeuppance.
McIlroy refused to play a shot at one stage as the abuse from the crowd became too heavy
McMahan is said to have apologised to McIlroy for whipping up the toxic atmosphere
On a successful day for Team Europe, McIlroy faced repeated abusive chants and at one point told the crowd to ‘shut the f*** up’
Team Europe are taking a record-breaking 11.5-4.5 lead into the final day at Bethpage Black
Multiple spectators were removed from the event while captain Donald has accused the crowd of ‘crossing the line’.
New footage has emerged showing the crowd practicing these chants earlier in the day. On the first tee, led by the emcee, McIlroy responded to their chants by blowing kisses back at them.
His wife, Erica Stoll, was also dragged into the verbal mudslings as the crowd branded her a ‘w****’.
Not only that, but McIlroy was also accused of ‘playing like a wet fart’ and of being a choker.
And it all got too much for the 36-year-old at one point. Earlier in the day, before his refusal to play, he snapped back and told spectators to ‘shut the f*** up’ during his foursomes victory alongside Tommy Fleetwood.
He had been interrupted during his swing on the 16th, but he responded in perfect fashion by firing an excellent shot onto the green for Fleetwood to finish the job with a putt.
The duo secured 3&2 win to see off Collin Morikawa and Harris English for a second successive day and maintain their perfect Ryder Cup record together, having won both foursomes games during Team Europe’s 2023 success also.
Throughout the day, the security presence was ramped up in a bid to bring the baying brood under control.
Supporters were also reminded on the big screens to uphold a certain standard of behaviour.
