Kevork Djansezian-USA TODAY/Dennis Schneidler-Imagn Images
The 2025 Ryder Cup was not a great one for the Americans who ended up losing on their home turf in front of a crowd that was roundly criticized for its behavior. A comedian who was hired in an ill-fated attempt to get spectators amped up resigned over an obscene chant involving Rory McIlroy, but she has painted herself as a victim in the wake of the tournament.
The Ryder Cup has a reputation for attracting raucous crowds that theoretically give the team hosting it home-course advantage, and the United States was hoping to harness that energy in its quest to reclaim the trophy this year at Bethpage Black.
However, that did not end up being the case. It seemed like Team Europe was going to cruise to victory after heading into Sunday with an 11 1/2-4 1/12 lead, and while the Americans managed to make things interesting on the final day of play, they ultimately came up short while falling to the tune of 15-13.
The 2025 Ryder Cup would have been remembered as the site of the biggest comeback in the history of the event if Team USA had managed to complete the rally. However, it seems like its lasting legacy will be the fairly atrocious behavior of the many spectators who marred the gathering thanks to their inability to exercise restraint when it came to taunting European golfers.
Rory McIlroy emerged as Public Enemy No. 1 over the course of the Ryder Cup, and he justifiably rebuked the vocal minority of fans who pelted him (and his wife) with vulgarities and verbal abuse during the international showdown.
That included one popular chant that led to an emcee making an early exit, but she doesn’t seem to think she deserves the blame she shouldered.
Ryder Cup MC Heather McMahan defended herself after being blamed for “F—k you Rory” chant
It’s hard to envy anyone who was tasked with attempting to tame the fans who gathered at the Ryder Cup this year, and that was the job actress and comedian Heather McMahan accepted when she was hired by the PGA of America to serve as a hype woman tasked with trying to rev up the crowd at the first tee before things got underway each day.
McMahan initially garnered some attention thanks to a cringe-inducing video where she attempted to get the bleacher creatures to engage in a “We Will Rock You”-inspired chant involving Scottie Scheffler after cracking a joke about attendees treating themselves to some Adderall before heading to the course on Saturday morning.
The crowd rebelled after an attempt to get another chant going for Bryson DeChambeau devolved into a chorus of “F—k you Rory,” which McMahan did not start but nonetheless joined in on.
While she was initially scheduled to perform the same task on Sunday, that did not end up being the case, as she announced she had voluntarily resigned from the role while saying she had apologized to McIlroy and Team Europe for contributing to the vitriol.
A TikTok influencer defended McMahan in a video where she argued the MC was being painted as a scapegoat, and the actress seemed to agree with that take in a comment where she compared the situation to the Salem Witch trials.
TikTok
At the end of the day, McMahan screwed up by saying the words “F—k you Rory” into a microphone, as that’s not something you can do when you’re getting a paycheck from the organization that was responsible for overseeing the Ryder Cup this year. It’s foolish to suggest she had any major role in triggering the toxicity that ended up permeating Bethpage Black, but she didn’t really do herself any favors.