'Ryder Cup abuse of McIlroy crossed the line'

Rory McIlroy is ranked second in the world

The abuse directed at Rory McIlroy and the rest of the European team at the Ryder Cup "crossed the line", says PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague.

McIlroy was the main target of abuse at Bethpage as Europe held off a late comeback from the United States to seal a 15-13 victory.

The abuse increased on day two of the tournament as Europe opened up a seven-point lead.

While McIlroy was subjected to verbal abuse, his wife Erica was hit by a drink thrown by an American fan on the 17th tee.

"It's unfortunate that people crossed the line last week," Sprague told the Golf Channel.

"There's no place for that at the Ryder Cup, no place for it in the game of golf and we are not happy with what happened last week."

McIlroy described the abuse as "unacceptable" and said it should be "off-limits".

Sprague says he plans on apologising to McIlroy and his family.

"I haven't spoken to Rory or Erica [McIlroy] but I do plan on sending them an email with my heartfelt apologies because of what occurred," he said.

McIlroy suffered lengthy abuse before eventually snapping by swearing at a spectator that called out while he was addressing the ball.

"I chirped back 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," said McIlroy.

"It was a rough week for all of us. But at the same time, we shut them up by our performance."