Veteran Sky Sports golf commentator Ewen Murray has announced his decision to retire, citing the “disgraceful” abuse suffered by Rory McIlroy and his family at last year’s Ryder Cup as the catalyst. Murray, 71, has been the voice of golf on Sky Sports for 35 years, following his own playing career.
Speaking on the Sliced Podcast, Murray revealed that the hostile atmosphere at Bethpage Black in September prompted him to bring forward his retirement. McIlroy and his wife Erica were subjected to abuse during Europe’s victory, with an MC leading a chant of “F*** you, Rory!” and Erica being struck by a beer can thrown from the crowd.
“I heard stuff in that half-hour that I can’t repeat to you, it’s that bad,” Murray said. “Not fired at Rory but at Rory’s family. I walked back and I thought, ‘Do you really need to be part of this any more?’ And that’s when I decided to finish commentary.”
Murray will continue his role through July’s Open and the Senior Open at Gleneagles, and will also appear at next month’s Masters. He said he felt his “time is probably up” after the Ryder Cup but was persuaded to stay on for The Players and the major championships.
“I just feel that after the Ryder Cup I lost a little bit of respect for the game,” Murray added. “I was so disgusted at the stuff I heard. I’ll never repeat it because it’s that bad. I just thought, ‘you’re 71 years of age, you’ve had a great kick of the ball’, as they say in Scotland. Now is maybe the time.”
