Rory McIlroy responded to a heckler during the 2026 US Open at Shinnecock Hills by making a gesture mocking the fan's waistline, as captured on camera and shared on social media. The six-time major champion then endured a frustrating final round, finishing outside the top 30 at six over par.
Heckler Incident During Third Round
During Saturday's third round, a video surfaced showing spectators loudly heckling McIlroy, with one fan shouting for his drive to find the bunker. McIlroy's cheeky retort involved gesturing that the man had a sizable paunch. The Northern Irishman, accustomed to boisterous New York crowds after abuse at the previous year's Ryder Cup at Bethpage, was not prepared to let the jibes go unanswered.
McIlroy had also encountered crowd taunts at the PGA Championship the previous month, where a fan was removed from Aronimink following a heckle late in his final round.
Collapse on Saturday's Back Nine
McIlroy reached two under par for the tournament with a run of front-nine birdies on Saturday, but his chances evaporated after the turn. He ended the day 10 shots behind 54-hole leader Wyndham Clark. Reflecting on the round, McIlroy said: "I got myself to two under par for the tournament after nine yesterday, and then the wheels came off and I played a really bad back nine. I sort of shot myself out of the tournament then."
Final Round Frustration
In his final round, McIlroy was heard on the broadcast telling himself to "go home" after an early error. He finished with a three-over-par 73, ending at six over par outside the top 30. Afterward, he said: "I think [Shinnecock] won the battle over me at this point. I think looking back on the entire week, I'll obviously rue the back nine yesterday."
Preparing for The Open Championship
McIlroy will skip next week's Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands, instead returning to his new home near London, England, to prepare for The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale in July. He said: "I'll be playing some links golf this week probably coming up, but yeah, it's my favorite time of the year to go back home and play, play The Open, and I get to spend a bit of time back there. This was not too dissimilar to an Open Championship in terms of how the golf course started to play over the weekend, but a bit of links golf over the next couple of weeks will be nice."
