By Oisin Doherty

Copyright irishmirror

Former UFC champion Tyron Woodley has defended Rory McIlroy for firing back at fans after the Northern Irishman was heckled mercilessly during the Ryder Cup. McIlroy was given a rough ride by American fans at Bethpage Black last month, and was involved in a number of unsavoury scenes as fans were removed from the venue due to taking the sledging too far. The grand-slam champion’s wife Erica was also subjected to abuse, and she was even struck by a plastic cup of beer that was thrown from the crowd after Europe’s stunning performance in the fourballs on the Saturday evening. Speaking after the win, McIlroy took aim at the crowd, and called on golf as a whole to hold itself to a higher standard than other sports. Woodley agrees completely with McIlroy, and believes fans should know that things could go wrong if you take heckling too far with sportspeople. “I think as a human being you have the right to defend yourself. And we as spectators gotta also step back and start being spectators again. We gotta quit thinking that we can say and do whatever we want to, because we give the fans so much access to us,” Woodley told Fruity King . “Right now, they think they’re entitled to their opinion, plus they’re entitled to say whatever they want to say to you at any point in time. I don’t agree with that. “You can also get your ass whooped, some athletes may go ahead and take matters into their own hands. “I’m not saying that Rory was one that was going to do that, but people just assume that that’s not a possibility, and it actually is.” McIlroy had vile abuse thrown at him and his family throughout the weekend, but he gave plenty back as well, telling the American fans to f*** off on more than one occasion. The world number two was criticised by former major champion Paul Azinger for his comments, with Azinger suggesting that McIlroy was hypocritical when he slammed American fans for using unseemly language while he himself swore at the crowd a number of times. PGA chiefs sought to deflect away from the ugly abuse hurled at players last week, with one higher up comparing the abuse to something you would hear at a youth soccer game, while another stated that the American’s received similar levels of abuse in Rome two years ago. However, the PGA has since backtracked, with PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague stating his intention to personally apologise to McIlroy and his wife, while PGA President Don Rea apologised to PGA members via email last weekend. “Let me begin with what we must own. While the competition was spirited – especially with the US team’s rally on Sunday afternoon – some fan behaviour clearly crossed the line,” reads Rea’s email. “It was disrespectful, inappropriate, and not representative of who we are as the PGA of America or as PGA of America golf professionals. We condemn that behaviour unequivocally.”