FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – Two police officers whizzed along the outskirts of the 13th fairway on bicycles, staking out the scene ahead. About 100 yards behind them, another seven officers walked on foot, starting at the tee box and making their way through the waste area in front of the fairway, a few spaced out on each side with their eyes trained on the crowd. Within a slightly tighter area, four bodyguards shuffled along, closely watching the movements of four men: Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry, Justin Thomas and Cameron Young, all of whom had just hit tee shots with their Four-ball match, one of the most pivotal of the day, still tied.

Saturday was a day in which golf took a backseat to what was happening outside the ropes, at least in one all-important match. One that delivered on the expectations, both good and bad, of a Ryder Cup in New York.

The atmosphere was raucous, with a feisty American crowd trying – and saying – whatever they could to help springboard the home team. At their best, they provided that exact environment, pumping up Thomas and Young and keeping them within a hole or two of the Irish duo that was on fire. At their worst, they proved unruly, bordering on uncomfortable.

As McIlroy and Lowry reached the fairway, a fan to their left called McIlroy a cheat, alleging he was using a driver longer than regulation. This was hardly the worst of what was shouted at the European duo Saturday afternoon, but it was enough to push a Team Europe support member to engage, getting in the fan’s face along the ropeline to deny it.

“Get a life,” another member of the European support team barbed at the fan.

Just one hole earlier, Lowry confronted a crowd member who shouted incessantly at him while he was in the bathroom. The two exchanged words before Lowry motioned to a nearby officer to have the fan removed. A similar scene played out on numerous holes. Lowry had a fan thrown out on the ninth, and vice captain Thomas Bjørn called for the ejection of another one along the crosswalk between the 17th and 18th.

The Ryder Cup has become ripe for barbs thrown toward the visiting team, feeding into the worst impulses of the patriotic competition that pits one country against another continent. Bethpage Black is a unique venue to pull it out of the crowd. New York is a haven of prestigious golf, from Shinnecock Hills to National Golf Links of America to Friar’s Head to Maidstone, but Bethpage Black holds a particular piece of New York’s heart. It’s public, open, and ready to host anyone who wants it bad enough to camp out overnight. It’s a piece of New York, and a piece of New Yorkers. And this week, they’ve watched the away team tear their course apart while their fellow Americans struggle to keep up.

As Europe flirted with a blowout on Saturday afternoon, those tensions hit a fever pitch. So much so that it became the story. Every shot was played in the context of the raucous environment around it. The cheers and jeers bled into players’ swings and persisted on the walks between holes, shots and particularly on the greens. Thomas was forced to play traffic cop, directing the American crowd to quiet down before nearly every swing the Europeans made on the back nine. A majority of the crowd kept the subject on golf, but the jeers turned personal and adversarial enough times to disturb McIlroy and Lowry, who weren’t afraid to dish it back with their play.

Playing into the crowd every time they holed a putt or flagged an approach, which only intensified the fever. Some players thrive as the antagonist. McIlroy and Lowry showed themselves to be among that group. That the Europeans won, despite the hostility directed toward them, was among the most impressive feats of the week. McIlroy and Lowry staved off a late charge by the Americans to win 2-up.

“It was intense. It was like something I've never experienced,” Lowry said. “But this is what I live for. This is it. This is, like, honestly, the reason I get up in the morning, for stuff like this.”

Bradley bristled at any insinuation that his team fed into the atmosphere. He felt the crowds were passionate and “you're always going to have a few people that cross the line, and that's unfortunate.”

“I wasn't at Rome, but I heard a lot of stories that Rome was pretty violent as well,” he continued. “But the fans of New York, from what I have seen, have been pretty good… Part of it is our fault. We are not playing up to the standards that they want to see, and they are angry, and they should be.”

The Europeans weren’t surprised by what they received. In the lead-up to this Ryder Cup, captain Luke Donald had players wear virtual reality headsets that simulated what would likely be shouted at them. Whatever McIlroy had said to him on the headset was likely no worse than what he heard Saturday.

“It was a really challenging day,” McIlroy said. “I'm going to sleep well tonight.”