The last time Rory McIlroy was on a Long Island golf course, he was celebrating a Ryder Cup victory at Bethpage Black while trying to come to terms with the rough reception he had gotten from the New York Crowd all week.
The taunting and vulgar comments toward McIlroy during the U.S. vs. Europe event made headlines and led to some fiery interactions between the fans and the two-time Masters winner.
But on Tuesday, two days ahead of the start of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills, a little more than 60 miles east of Bethpage Black, McIlroy didn’t seem to hold any ill will toward the local golf fans.
Being part of the victorious side of the Ryder Cup certainly seemed to help.
“Look, I love playing around New York. I love playing in this area. It’s got some of the best golf in the world,” he said ahead of his practice round. “This is different. The Ryder Cup is us versus them, very partisan. It’s just a different beast. … Was it a rough week for me at times? Absolutely. But it is what it is. If that’s a price to pay to live the life that I’m living, then I’m OK with that.”
McIlroy was given a warm reception while he had been out on the course Monday for his first practice round of the week. He had a sizable crowd following along with him, and his practice partners Michael Brennan and Filippo Celli, during his nine holes out at Shinnecock.
It was a starkly different scene than nine months earlier in Farmingdale when the crowd at Bethpage Black had upset him to the point he told a fan to “shut the f–k up” before a shot during his Saturday Ryder Cup round, and the day earlier was seen flipping another off.
On Tuesday, McIlroy called the fans following during the practice round “great” and the reception in Southampton “amazing.”
“New York is New York, and they’re going to make their voices heard, but that’s a good thing. That’s a good atmosphere to play in,” he said.