RORY MCILROY’S wife Erica Stoll has won praise over her handling of the “astonishing” amount of Ryder Cup abuse.
Erica was hit by a drink thrown by the crowd and subjected to vile chants.
Rory McIlroy and his wife Erica Stoll were subjected to vile abuse at Bethpage Black[/caption]
Erica was struck by a drink thrown from the crowd[/caption]
Justin Rose and Shane Lowry praised how Erica handled the situation[/caption]
She joined her husband on the green and during the tournament and remained calm and composed amid the hostile atmosphere.
McIlroy’s Team Europe team-mates praised Erica’s handling of the situation, with close friend Shane Lowry commending her resolve.
He said, “I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy, and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing.
“The way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable, and kudos to her for that.”
Another team-mate, Justin Rose, revealed he was unaware Erica had been hit by a missile, and commended Erica for not making a big deal of the situation.
He added, “I actually had no idea that Erica had a beer thrown at her yesterday, so fair play to Erica.
“She didn’t bring that to the team room. We didn’t make that a big deal. That’s news to me.
“That says a lot about the strength of Erica and everybody on this team.”
McIlroy, 36, also shared some kinds words for Erica in the post-match press conference.
The couple were taunted about McIlroy’s past relationships and links to golf journalist Amanda Balionis, so the world No.2 was delighted to get some payback.
He said, “It should be off-limits, but obviously it wasn’t this week.
“Erica is fine. She’s a very, very strong woman.
“She handled everything this week with class, poise and dignity like she always has.
“I love her and we’re going to have a good time celebrating tonight.”
He continued, “Look, it was a rough week for all of us.
“But at the same time, we shut them up by our performance and how we played, and we tried to — I chirped back a few times because it got to me a few times, but we tried to handle everything that came our way with class and poise, and for the most part, I felt like we did that.”
