Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland had to battle gallery heckling along with a difficult course at the US Open.
In a video released Sunday, a spectator shouted at Shinnecock Hills Golf Club (par 70) in Southampton, New York, where the third round took place, as McIlroy hit his tee shot: "Get in the bunker, get in the bunker! Hope you live there today." McIlroy, who endured all manner of profanity and ridicule from American fans during the Ryder Cup, the US-Europe team competition held at Bethpage Black in New York last September, appears to have been targeted again in New York. As he left the teeing area, McIlroy responded to the spectator with a gesture that appeared to point out his protruding belly.
McIlroy, the world No. 2 in men's golf, will skip the Travelers Championship, a PGA Tour signature event held this week, and travel to Britain to prepare for The Open, the season's final major, which begins July 16 at Royal Birkdale Golf Club in Southport, England. Ahead of The Open, he plans to compete in the Genesis Scottish Open, jointly hosted by the PGA Tour and the European DP World Tour at the Renaissance Club in Scotland starting July 9.
Wyndham Clark of the United States, who won the title that day, was also troubled by heckling. Spectators poured criticism and jeers at Clark, who could not contain his anger and damaged a locker room door after missing the cut at last year's US Open. NBC reported that police restrained several spectators who were heckling Clark.
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