PGA of America CEO, Derek Sprague, issued a personal apology to pro golfer Rory McIlroy and his wife, Erica Stoll, after the two endured a barrage of abuse during the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black in Farmingdale, New York.

Sprague, who took over as CEO in January, confirmed that he reached out directly to McIlroy, 36, and Stoll, 38, after they were both subjected to verbal attacks throughout the weekend

“I sent a long email to share with Rory and Erica and just told him that we will do better in the future,” Sprague told The Athletic on Thursday, October 2. “I’m the CEO now. I don’t condone this type of behavior. This is not good for the game of golf. It’s not good for the Ryder Cup. It’s not good for any of the professional athletes, and we will do better.”

Sprague also acknowledged having a lengthy call with McIlroy’s manager, Sean O’Flaherty, to express regret and outline how the PGA of America intends to prevent similar incidents.

“I was just really, really, really disappointed,” Sprague said. “I’m disappointed in fan behavior, disappointed in the first tee and the emcee. That’s not who we are.”

The controversy began Saturday morning, September 27, when Ryder Cup emcee Heather McMahan grabbed a microphone on the first tee and encouraged a chant of “F*** you, Rory.”

Sprague and other executives were on-site and by the evening, McMahan had issued an apology and stepped down from her role.

McIlroy faced expletives and heckling throughout his matches, while Stoll was struck by a drink on Saturday, September 27 as she walked with the crowd. Sprague, who has known Stoll since her time working with the PGA of America, said the organization failed to protect players and families.

“It’s hard to define what crosses the line, right?” Sprague said. “You almost have to be there, and when we were getting reports of those incidents, the security — state police or private or whoever — we were dealing with those as they came up. We threw out a number of people, or we moved people to other places away from the matches if they were heckling certain players of that match.”

Sprague contrasted his stance with that of PGA of America president Don Rea, who told BBC Sport on Monday, September 29, that“things like that are going to happen. It happened when we were in Rome on the other side.”

Rea’s attempt to downplay the situation did not sit well with Team Europe, who defeated Team USA 15-13 after a furious comeback attempt by the Americans on the final day of competition.

“What the PGA of America guy said about it being the same in Rome — he clearly wasn’t there,” Team Europe’s Matt Fitzpatrick told BBC reporters Wednesday, October 2 ahead of play at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland. “Either he wasn’t there or he was listening to something else, because it was never like that. It’s always been playful, just banter. It’s pretty offensive to European fans the fact that he said that, really.”

Heather McMahan confessed to feeling like a witch burned at the stake following backlash over her jeering of Rory McIlroy at the Ryder Cup. McMahan, 38, took part in a “F*** You, Rory” chant on Saturday, September 27, that broke out during the golf tournament. While she apologized for her actions, the comedian — and some […]

McIlroy, meanwhile, emphasized that the sport must not normalize such hostility.

“Look, I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf,” he said after the Europeans’ victory on Sunday, September 28. “Golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.”

Sprague promised a full review between the PGA of America and the DP (European) World Tour ahead of the 2027 Ryder Cup in Ireland to make sure such bawdy behavior doesn’t happen again.

“We will make sure that we focus on what the Ryder Cup is all about,” Sprague said. “It’s about decorum and sportsmanship and integrity. The game has the highest values in all of sports, and we need to have a guiding light to focus on from both sides of every match.”