Team Europe hero Tyrrell Hatton has now admitted he “struggled” with the abhorrent level of abuse he suffered during the visitors’ historic victory against Team USA at Bethpage Black over the weekend.
The Englishman played a starring role in his fourth consecutive appearance in the tournament, his third triumph.
Unfortunately, while the golf on display was simply stellar from Europe, particularly on days one and two, the weekend was marred by a sea of insults and abuse from the home fans.
Talisman Rory McIlroy and wife Erica Stoll arguably suffered the worst, with the former facing a barrage of insults, including homophobic slurs, and the latter even having a beer thrown at her head.
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And while admitting some members of the team “had a lot worse than others”, Hatton has now revealed the extent of the abuse he suffered, centring around physical torments.
“To be honest, I think some guys on the team had a lot worse than others,” the 33-year-old admitted. “For me personally, yeah, there were a lot of insults maybe around height or hair line or weight, some of which I pretty much said to myself anyway, so it wasn't like anything new.
Team Europe hero Tyrrell Hatton has now admitted he 'struggled' with the abhorrent level of abuse he suffered during the visitors’ historic victory against Team USA at Bethpage Black over the weekend
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“How I went about last week, I don't feel like I did anything to wind up the crowd, to be honest. Like if I celebrated, I celebrated generally towards my teammates or with my caddie. Yeah, that's just how I dealt with everything.
“And certainly Friday, Saturday, I was really happy with how I managed my emotions on the golf course. I didn't really let anything affect me; even if I hit bad shots, I didn't overly react.
Rory McIlroy and Erica Stoll took the brunt of the abuse throughout the weekend
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“I was pretty calm, and as we know, that can be difficult for me sometimes.
“Sunday - I struggled a bit more with that. Singles is a different beast.
Tyrrell Hatton admitted the Sunday singles sessions can feel 'lonely'
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“Certainly, the first two days, you're with your teammates, and then Sundays can feel a bit more lonely or, in some regards, back to normal because that's how it is as an individual every other tournament that you play.
“As the round went on, the pressure was building. I don't think I overreacted but I definitely found it harder to stay as calm as I had done the previous three days.”
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During the weekend, Team Europe captain Luke Donald slammed the home support for “crossing the line”.
"What I consider crossing the line is personal insults and making sounds when they are trying to hit on their backswings or very close to when they are trying to go into their routines. That did happen a little bit," Donald said.
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Team Europe captain Luke Donald agreed with Tyrrell Hatton, saying home fans had 'crossed the line'
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However, Team USA skipper Luke Donald vehemently refuted such claims, suggesting it was simply “passionate fans”.
"Ryder Cups are wild. I don't appreciate those words that you just said," Bradley shot back at Donald. "I know what you're trying to do. The Ryder Cup is full of passionate fans, they're full of passionate players.
Team USA captain Keegan Bradley disagreed with the notion, suggesting it was simply 'passionate' fans
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"I thought the fans were passionate. I wasn't at Rome, but I heard a lot of stories that Rome was pretty violent as well.
"You're always going to have a few people that cross the line and that's unfortunate."
Despite the abuse, Europe were able to hold onto their commanding lead that had been created during the opening two days of the tournament, despite a late Sunday onslaught from the hosts.
The victory secured Donald’s place in Ryder Cup history as just the second European captain to win consecutive titles.