Rory McIlroy was perfectly positioned to dominate the final round of the 2026 PGA Championship and take home the Wanamaker Trophy. However, things haven’t been going his way on Sunday. His third shot on the 16th hole was the perfect example of that as it bounced off the fringe and into the bunker. But that’s not what pissed off the Northern Irishman.
Right after he hit the ball, a spectator screamed at him, trying to get into his head. At first, McIlroy tried to ignore the rowdy heckling as he asked the fan to “shut the f**k up” and walk on his way towards the bunker. But something triggered him as he turned around and pointed at the security with his club and asked them to remove the spectator.
He had already had a tough round on the course with near misses all day long. McIlroy had multiple putts that could have been birdies but turned into near misses instead. He got a few that went narrowly wide and missed by less than a foot due to a lack of pace or being slightly wide of the target. The most surprising one came only a few holes ago on the 12th when his 44-foot putt fell short of the cup by 11 inches.
The Irish luck hasn’t favored him at all on Sunday. He started the round on 4-under par, and it seems like he is going to end up at the same score at the end of the round. He might fall short of Aaron Rai, who is sitting at the top of the leaderboard at 8-under par, two strokes clear of the field.
‘SHUT THE F— UP!’
Rory McIlroy loses it on a fan during his final round at The PGA Championship and appears to direct security to have them removed. pic.twitter.com/rlIxfPW9ln
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) May 17, 2026
McIlroy also got heckled at Bethpage. But he had a different reaction back then.
The last time Rory McIlroy got heckled
Back in September 2025, during an intense battle with Team U.S., Rory McIlroy and the rest of the European squad were trashing their adversaries in the doubles contest. As he was about to hit an approach shot during one of the matches, a fan tried to disrupt him during his downswing.
Even then, McIlroy told him to zip it before continuing with his stroke. After that, he went on to hit an excellent shot, giving his teammate, Tommy Fleetwood, a very easy putt to make in the foursome contest. A day after the incident, the Northern Irishman talked about how well the situation was controlled by the security at Bethpage.
