How did Rory McIlroy and Team Europe respond to abuse from spectators at the Ryder Cup?

It was Rory McIlroy who bore the brunt of the OTT heckling from some sections of the USA support during the Ryder Cup weekend, but he wasn't the only one targeted on the Hazeltine greens.

The occasionally rowdy atmosphere facilitated the weekend's most unsavoury scene when one spectator told McIlroy "to suck a d***" before making reference to the Northern Irishman's 2014 split with tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. McIlroy approached the man before having him thrown off the course on Saturday.

Ryder Cup officials released a statement urging fans to remember golf's long traditions of sportsmanship, warning there would be a zero tolerance policy enforced on any disruptive behaviour from those in attendance and that any foul language would result in a swift exit.

Despite losing his intense singles showdown on Sunday to Patrick Reed, McIlroy seemed unaffected by it all and urged his team to take it all "on the chin" – although he did note being able to start drinking at half 7 in the morning hardly helped the situation.

Some did take it on the chin, with Lee Westwood revelling in one American spectator calling him a "turd." He said: "That's the first time I've been called that since I was 12, so it made me feel young again."

But some of the treatment dished out to Europe's golfers wasn't quite so playful, with Sergio Garcia left feeling ashamed for his American girlfriend after some of the behaviour he witnessed.

"It has been quite poor, I am not going to lie," Garcia said. "It is unfortunate because I think 85%of the people are great and I love playing in America – my girlfriend is American – but that 15% is really bad and it makes them look bad."

Danny Willett provided perhaps the most scathing criticism, albeit in a slightly indirect way. His brother Peter's now infamous editorial for the National Club Golfer where he described American golf fans as "obnoxious", "groupies" and "cretins" forced the Masters champion into making an embarrassed apology before play had even started.

After a disappointing weekend culminating in singles loss to Brooks Koepka, Willett tweeted this morning: "Very strange week here at the Ryder Cup... Tried my best but played poorly. Unfortunately some American fans showed that Peter Willett was in fact correct. Nothing to blame my plan on. But still shows that sometimes fans don't know when to call it a day."

Captain Darren Clarke also admitted over the weekend some had overstepped the mark. "It is disappointing but I think you have 99.99% of the crowd out there that are wonderfully respectful. They are patriotic, yes, but they are wonderfully respectful.

"You are always going to have one or two idiots that say the wrong thing at the wrong time and unfortunately that has happened," he said, in reference to the McIlroy incident. "Overall the fans have been absolutely superb to us, and it is unfortunate."