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Ryder Cup: McIlroy urges Europe fans not to retaliate

Spectators at the 2018 Ryder Cup in Paris will prove more respectful if Rory McIlroy gets his wish.

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Rory McIlroy has urged European golf fans not to heckle Team USA as retaliation for the behaviour of some American spectators at Hazeltine.

The United States won the Ryder Cup 17-11 on Sunday, capturing the prestigious biennial event for the first time since 2008.

The competition in Minnesota was marred by the unpleasant actions of some members of the galleries, evoking unhappy memories of the ill-tempered 1999 contest at Brookline.

Addressing the media after his team's defeat, world number three McIlroy sought to reject the notion the USA could be in for a hot reception at Le Golf National in 2018.

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"Definitely, first and foremost, we wouldn't encourage any sort of retaliation," he said.

"That's just not who we are. That's not what we do.

"There won't be - and we'll be making that clear. We want to play this tournament in the manner in which it should be played.

"We have no problems with anyone on either team, and really, it's just a very small minority [of fans], 95 per cent of the people out there, the American gallery are absolutely fantastic, they really are.

"But this week, at times, it has went a little bit too far. But you know, that's to be expected. When you are teeing off at 7:35 in the morning and you're seeing people on the first tee with a beer in their hand and matches aren't finishing until 4:30, 5:00 in the afternoon, I know I would be done at that point, I don't know what I would be saying.

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"So it has to be expected. It is what it is. It happened this week. You know, a couple of people out there crossed the line, but … we'll move on and we'll definitely not encourage anything like that to happen in France next time around."

Veteran Lee Westwood lightened the mood by regaling the media with an anecdote from his interaction with the hostile crowd.

"I got called a turd yesterday, which is the first time since I was about 12 years old, so it made me feel young again," the Englishman said.

Beaten European skipper Darren Clarke expressed his gratitude for the efforts of his counterpart Davis Love III and Team USA in suppressing the unruly element among their supporters.

"I think on behalf of us all, we have to give massive respect to Davis's vice-captains and his team and his caddies for the way they tried to police it on our behalf," he said.

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