Justin Rose and Shane Lowry comment on behaviour of Rory McIlroy's wife during Ryder Cup

Justin Rose and Shane Lowryexpressed their huge respect for Rory McIlroy's wife, Erica Stoll, after the repeated abuse she endured from spectators during the Ryder Cup. Erica watched her husband's matches from inside the ropes and faced cruel remarks from Team USA fans throughout the tournament at Bethpage Black.

As Saturday's action drew to a close, she even had a plastic beer cup launched at her by a spectator. McIlroy himself faced constant abuse from the crowds throughout the competition.

And speaking after Europe’s 15-13 win following a nail-biting final day, McIlroy praised his wife for how she coped with the treatment from fansat the weekend. Following McIlroy's comments, team-mates Rose and Lowry shared their thoughts on the matter, before leading a round of applause for Erica in the winners' press conference.

"I actually had no idea that Erica had a beer thrown at her yesterday, so fair play to Erica," Rose said, via the Mirror US. "She didn't bring that to the team room.

"We didn't make that a big deal. That's news to me. That says a lot about the strength of Erica and everybody on this team."

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Lowry continued, stating: "I was out there for two days with Erica McIlroy, and the amount of abuse that she received was astonishing and the way she was out there supporting her husband and supporting her team was unbelievable, and kudos to her for that."

Earlier in the press conference, McIlroy expressed his admiration for his wife and how she dealt with a particularly challenging week inside the ropes in Long Island.

"[Families] should be off-limits, but obviously it wasn't this week," McIlroy said. “Erica is fine. She's a very, very strong woman.

"You know, she handled everything this week with class and poise and dignity like she always has. I love her and we're going to have a good time celebrating tonight.”

McIlroy took the opportunity to criticise the behaviour seen in the galleries throughout the week.

"I don't think we should ever accept that in golf," he said. "I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week.

"Golf has the ability to unite people. Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people.

"Sometimes this week we didn't see that. So no, this should not be what is acceptable in the Ryder Cup.

“But you know, we will be making sure to say to our fans in Ireland in 2027 that what happened here this week is not acceptable, and for me, it's… you know, come and support your home team. Come and support your team."