It’s been around 6 months since the 2025 Ryder Cup, and yet, fan behavior at the event continues to shape opinions and decisions. The 35-year veteran Sky Sports commentator Ewen Murray is criticising Keegan Bradley for the horrifying abuse Rory McIlroy faced, and how it has shaped his critical decision.
“I don’t think they did themselves any favors at all. I also feel with the woman who was swearing behind the tee, shouting at Rory in a horrible manner, if Keegan Bradley, who came and supported it and waved his hands to get the crowd to get louder, if he spent as much time looking at his pairings, Keegan Bradley may well have been a winning Ryder Cup captain….,” Murray said, as reported by NUCLR GOLF.
#DISGUSTING — Longtime , 35-year veteran Sky Sports’ commentator Ewen Murray says American fan behaviour at The 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage prompted him to kick retirement plans into gear, with his final event on the job coming as soon as this summer at Gleneagles.
“I… pic.twitter.com/xVbMIatysK
— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) March 21, 2026
The veteran commentator also criticized Keegan Bradley’s pairing decisions. He paired Collin Morikawa and Harris English for Friday’s foursomes against Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood, which ended in a defeat. Despite the fallout, the American captain continued with the same pairing on Saturday as well, and against the same European pair.
DataGolf ranked it the worst of 132 U.S. pairing options. Thus, Murray complained that if Bradley had focused more on pairing, the American side could have won. The American team did make a comeback on Sunday in the singles. However, it was not enough, as they lost 13-15.
Murray then went on to add how the heckles were disgusting, especially what he heard near holes 9-11 on Saturday afternoon. “I heard stuff in that half hour that I can’t repeat to you, it’s that bad. Not fired at Rory but at Rory’s family.”
Surprisingly, this eventually made him decide to quit commentary.
“That’s when I decided to finish commentary. By the time I got on the plane on a Monday, I looked out over New York and thought it’s been a fantastic journey, but if that’s our future, I really don’t want any part of it,” he said.
Murray has hinted that his final event on the job could be this summer at Gleneagles. Murray also took issue with Don Rea, the president of the PGA of America, who failed to condemn the abuse right away and then congratulated Europe on “retaining the Ryder Cup” instead of recognizing their clear victory.
And it’s not just Ewen Murray who criticised Bradley. Rory McIlroy feels the same.
Rory McIlroy blames Keegan Bradley
Fans didn’t leave any opportunity to heckle golfers. Besides the Northern Irishman, Robert MacIntyre and Shane Lowry faced verbal abuse, too. The crowd was body-shaming them with comments like “Eat another burger, Bobby?”
While McIlroy and others have held Keegan Bradley responsible for not interfering at the 2025 Ryder Cup, the American captain has defended the crowd. He said that they are simply passionate about the event, the sport, and the competition between the European team and the American team. Bradley instead said that the US team’s performance was the reason for the crowd’s edginess.
