Rory McIlroy groaned at by Ryder Cup fans as two LIV Golf stars show true colours

Tyrrell Hatton and Jon Rahm thrilled young supporters at the Ryder Cup by dedicating considerable time to signing autographs on Wednesday.

After Team Europe's morning practice session, both golfers headed to the autograph area on the putting green behind the 18th hole and traversed the entire length of the barrier, signing caps, flags, and various memorabilia. Whilst other players, including Sepp Straka, Matt Fitzpatrick, Bob MacIntyre, and Shane Lowry, made brief appearances, the two LIV Golf stars demonstrated remarkable patience to sign as many spectator items as they could manage.

Rory McIlroy and Viktor Hovland strolled past the supporters, opting not to provide autographs on this specific occasion, prompting audible disappointment. However, those supporters were eventually rewarded for their patience when this year's Masters champion later returned to fulfil his duties - as he frequently does at tournaments.

Tommy Fleetwood also emerged later to contribute and satisfy all the autograph-seeking youngsters who had waited patiently.

Hatton and Rahm, nevertheless, demonstrated considerable commitment to their charm offensive with supporters. Yet, this goodwill proved short-lived as McIlroy and his colleagues were ruthlessly jeered when they emerged for their afternoon practice session.

Until that moment, the atmosphere at Bethpage Black had been "tame" according to Collin Morikawa. The American encouraged supporters to create "chaos" come Friday and intensify the pressure on their rivals.

"I'll be honest, I think it's kind of tame so far, Tuesday and Wednesday," he said. "I know tomorrow is going to be pretty bad, but I hope Friday is just absolute chaos.

"I'm all for it. I think it feeds into who we are and the American players and the American Team. We want it. Like we want to use that to our advantage.

"I think every sport uses their home crowd to their advantage, and just because we don't play in a setting like this doesn't mean the craziness of New York and the rest of the country that people are traveling in from, it doesn't mean that we can't use that to our advantage. I think we really have to tap into that. I hope they come strong.

"Watching all these kids, I know they want autographs, but come Friday, I hope they go crazy."

McIlroy might well have been braced for the jeers after Luke Donald instructed his squad to practise with VR headsets replicating the hostile atmosphere many are anticipating.

"It is to simulate the sights and sounds," he said whilst recently competing at Wentworth.

"That's the stuff that we are going to have to deal with. It's better to try to desensitise yourself as much as possible before you get in there.

"You can get them to say whatever you want them to say," he added. "You can go as close to the bone as you like."