Rory McIlroy received letter of apology from PGA chief after Ryder Cup abuse

Rory McIlroy has revealed PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague sent a personal apology for the abuse directed at him and his wife during Europe's Ryder Cup victory in New York.

Europe held off a stirring fightback from the United States at Bethpage Black, where the Americans had gone into the final session 12-5 down before mounting a comeback in the singles, only to come up short.

Luke Donald's team - and McIlroy in particular - were on the end of some unsavoury abuse from a partisan crowd across the three days, with a beer tossed from the crowd hitting the hat of McIlroy's wife Erica.

McIlroy, though, has since received a "lovely letter" from Sprague looking to smooth things over.