Rory McIlroy sat in front of me, draped in a European flag and swigging from a can of Stella Artois. 

His voice had gone slightly hoarse from the early celebrations after Europe secured a dramatic Ryder Cup victory over Team USA. 

But soon his eyes glazed over – and these weren’t happy tears.

McIlroy spoke about the emotional impact of the recent days. Europe’s captain, Luke Donald, turned to offer support, placing a hand on the world No. 2’s shoulder.

Cracks were beginning to appear. But McIlroy refused break.

During the post-match press conference, or at the intensity of Bethpage Black Golf Course over a challenging weekend, I observed him face harsh, offensive taunts from an intensely passionate American audience. It was a distressing sight.

Being in New York last week meant witnessing people behaving poorly, dressed in casual golf attire. Following McIlroy and his team through this state park revealed the unpleasant consequences of a problematic mix: when national pride is tainted with alcohol, animosity, and a distorted sense of humor and acceptability.

In the aftermath, there were two troubling questions. First, how did McIlroy endure the barrage of offensive comments from the spectators? Nothing appeared to be off-limits.

He faced slurs, with someone calling him a derogatory term; his wife, Erica Stoll, was insulted as well. Nasty rumors about his personal life were shouted, and Erica even had a drink thrown at her. Yet, he still managed to secure three and a half crucial points for Team Europe.

Police dogs and state troopers had to be called in after Rory McIlroy was subject to vile abuse 

McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll were taunted during the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black

McIlroy struggled to contain his emotions as he opened up on all he had endured in New York

This leads us to the second question about this unpleasant event: Why was McIlroy singled out for such intensely personal and harsh abuse, the likes of which have not been seen in golf for years?

Yes, every European player was given a rough ride. For a few holes over Sunday lunchtime, I followed England’s Matt Fitzpatrick in his singles match against America’s Bryson DeChambeau.

The Englishman barely looked up from his notebook all weekend. But that didn’t save him from taunts about his height, his teeth, his family and his pace of play.

The unfortunate truth, though? That was gentle ribbing compared to what they hurled at McIlroy. So, why? Why here? Why him?

More often than not, golf tournaments unfold to a soundtrack of polite applause and pantomime groans. There are no police dogs or state troopers patrolling the fairways. In fact, everywhere else on the PGA and DP World Tours, McIlroy is golf’s pied piper. 

No one, except Tiger Woods, attracts such huge crowds and such adulation. Not even American world No 1 Scottie Scheffler. 

And, outside of his native Northern Ireland, arguably no country fawns over McIlroy like America. It’s normally a love-love thing. A couple of days before the Ryder Cup, McIlroy gushed over the US and called it the ‘best country in the world.’

So what changed? Well the Ryder Cup is unlike any other event. It is the greatest team competition in golf, a spectacle brimming with history and drama and national pride. It has always sparked different emotions. The away team always steels itself for some hostility.

‘They deserve it,’ one American fan told the BBC. ‘They’re in New York City, what do they expect?’

And in the build up to this Ryder Cup, some on the US team stoked those fires. 

The Team Europe star clashed with the crowds during a raucous weekend of Ryder Cup action

McIlroy blows kisses to American supporters on the first tee ahead during the Ryder Cup

Bryson DeChambeau goaded that Europe wasn’t ‘ready’ for what awaited them.

‘Whatever expectation they should have [about the fans], they should double it,’ he said. Collin Morikawa, meanwhile, outright urged the crowd to create ‘absolute chaos.’

On Saturday night, after the worst of the vitriol, US captain Keegan Bradley did not take kindly to being asked if – given their words – his team had to shoulder any responsibility for the brutal atmosphere.

Donald prepared his players for a hostile welcome but no one embodied Europe better than McIlroy. He is the team’s best player and its on-course figurehead. That was always going to make him a target.

‘He’s just too damn good,’ one US fan said. Another said the Northern Irishman cops abuse ‘because we love him. That’s the awful reality. We love him… except during these couple of days.’

There is another inescapable truth. McIlroy has endured more than most golfers – both on and off the course. 

He has suffered high-profile meltdowns, most notably at last year’s US Open. He has also experienced plenty of turbulence in his private life. To be clear, none of that justifies the personal, puerile insults aimed at him or his family. And no doubt most golf fans don’t care for salacious rumors about his love life.

But at Bethpage there were plenty of morons mining for sticks, any stick, to beat someone with. And unfortunately, they don’t have to dig as deep with McIlroy. 

He filed for divorce from Erica in May last year, before U-turning on the decision a month later. He has gone through sporting heartbreak in front of the watching world. What ammunition, for instance, would the casual sports fan have to lob at Sepp Straka? 

Of course, McIlroy bites back. On Saturday, he barked for baying fans to ‘shut the f*** up’.

McIlroy appears to make an offensive gesture to abusive American fans during the first day

Stoll (right, with Shane Lowry’s wife, Wendy) was subjected to horrific abuse while watching 

On another hole, he pointed towards different sections of the crowd and said to each of them: ‘F*** you.’

He also led chants against the US side: ‘Are you watching, Donald Trump?’

No doubt, some will argue that McIlroy must accept the taunts if he is happy to dish them out. 

When asked about the abuse he received this weekend, the Northern Irishman insisted: ‘Golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.’

Those words have sparked allegations of ‘hypocrisy’ and suggestions that he must practice what he ‘preaches.’

As former US captain Paul Azinger put it: ‘Which is it Rory? Is it that golf is held to a higher standard or are you just going to “F you” the fans and act that like that’s okay?

‘I love Rory, 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 have got to be one or the other.’

It’s nonsense, of course. No one on Team Europe would argue they should be given a hero’s welcome on foreign soil. 

But there is a difference between playful jabs and personal attacks. Between stoking rivalries and accepting feral abuse.

And too often at Bethpage Black, through the haze of beers and badly fitting chinos, too many fans strayed the wrong side of that line.