Rory McIlroy quietened the crowd – with words and actions – as Europe tightened their grip on the 45th Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black on Saturday.
The world number two swore as he responded angrily to being heckled repeatedly during the second foursomes session, but also let his golf do the talking as Europe increased their lead over the United States to 8.5-3.5.
McIlroy combined with Tommy Fleetwood to beat Harris English and Collin Morikawa for a second day in succession.
Their 3&2 win, coming after an emphatic 5&4 triumph on Friday, compounded the frustration for Keegan Bradley after the US captain was criticised for his decision to partner English and Morikawa.
McIlroy was subjected to regular taunts from the New York crowd as he addressed the ball, with comments such as 'slice it' or ‘miss it’ being quite common.
Having responded to abuse on Friday with what appeared an offensive gesture, he reacted animatedly on a couple of occasions on day two.
There was one outburst after he and Fleetwood won the second hole to level the match after a slow start, and another as he prepared to play what proved a decisive shot on the 16th.
On this occasion he stepped away from the ball and shouted back, telling one individual to "shut the f*** up".
He returned to his stance and calmly hit a fine approach that allowed Fleetwood to hole for a birdie three and complete victory.
"I don’t mind them having a go but when you’re trying to hit a shot that’s tough," said McIlroy afterwards.
McIlroy and Fleetwood had taken command their match by winning five holes on the front nine.
English briefly led a rally as the Americans won two back in succession but Fleetwood and McIlroy were not to be denied.
That secured Europe’s first point of the day after the Bryson DeChambeau and Cameron Young had reduced the deficit by beating Matt Fitzpatrick and Ludvig Aberg convincingly, 4&2, in the opening match.
Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton won their second foursomes match of the weekend as they saw off Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 4&2 after a strong performance on the back nine.
Rahm and Hatton were pegged back to all square after winning the opening two holes but regained control after the Spaniard chipped in from the rough for a birdie on the eighth.
Rahm said: "It wasn’t looking too bright for us – they had just squared the match – but it was an incredible, incredible moment.
"But there’s still so much golf ahead that I didn’t let myself get too high."
Robert MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland delivered another point after a dramatic conclusion to their clash with Scottie Scheffler and Russell Henley.
After trading holes throughout, the match was level on 17 when the Americans failed to take advantage an excellent tee shot from Scheffler and Hovland halved with a superb long putt.
World number one Scheffler, who has lost his first three matches this week, then found a bunker at the last and the Europeans snatched a remarkable one-hole win.
Follow live updates on The Ryder Cup with rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app
