Don Rea has been removed as president of the PGA of America after backlash over his handling of fan abuse aimed at Rory McIlroy and Team Europe during the 2025 Ryder Cup, as well as comments made in a car crash interview ahead of the Sunday Singles.
Don Rea didn’t just lose credibility after the 2025 Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black — he lost the job.
The PGA of America announced on Friday evening that Rea has been removed as president. suspended by its Board of Directors for the remainder of his term. which was scheduled to run until November of this year. Nathan Charnes, the PGA of America vice president, has been promoted to serve as interim Acting President.
Rea’s position had already been destabilized in the months since last year’s Ryder Cup. when Europe and the United States turned ugly on day two. The match at Bethpage — Europe versus the US — deteriorated after Team Europe. and Rory McIlroy in particular. were subjected to horrendous abuse from US fans.
Backlash flared when Rea failed to condemn the abuse hurled at McIlroy and his Ryder Cup teammates. The controversy deepened further when Rea suggested such behavior was something that simply “goes with” big crowds. “Things like that are going to happen. ” he said in a car crash interview ahead of the Sunday Singles. describing the problem as a distraction for players rather than an issue of unacceptable conduct from spectators.
In that same interview, Rea also appeared to shift blame toward Team USA’s performance on crowd control. He claimed that when American players are forced to manage the crowds. it “distracts them from playing.” He then delivered a blunt message about what the crowd should do instead: “So our message today. to everybody out here. is: cheer on the Americans like never before because that will always get them to play better. Get them out of crowd control and let them perform.”.
He added: “We tell the fans: booing somebody doesn’t make them play worse. Typically it makes them play better.”
Rea’s comments also drew sharp criticism because the abuse wasn’t just noise on the edge of the fairway. During the Saturday foursomes and fourballs at Bethpage. the world No 2 was taunted about his private life and called a “f*****”. McIlroy’s wife, Erica Stoll, was hit by a drink as the atmosphere turned nasty.
Despite that. Rea suggested Europe’s players were treated no worse than American counterparts when they traveled to Marco Simone in 2023. In an interview with the BBC. he said: “Well you have 50. 000 people there that are really excited and – heck – you can go to a youth soccer game and get some people who say the wrong things.”.
When pressed on the personal attacks aimed at McIlroy. he responded: “I haven’t heard some of that – I’m sure it’s happened.” He then added that McIlroy “understands. ” saying: “It happened when we were in Rome on the other side and Rory understands… things like that are going to happen and I don’t know what was said. But all I know is golf the engine of good.”.
There was also a brewing sense of fracture inside the Ryder Cup itself. Rea’s role came under renewed scrutiny after PGA of America chief executive Derek Sprague eventually apologized to McIlroy and Stoll once it emerged that Team Europe was ready to walk off the course over the abuse.
The situation at Bethpage was compounded by Team USA’s struggles. The world No 2 wasn’t the only player forced to deal with the crowd. Over the first two days, home players including Justin Thomas were made to try to quieten the galleries.
Against that backdrop, Rea’s attempts to frame the issue as a kind of performance problem — rather than a line that spectators crossed — made the backlash stick.
Rea also went viral in connection with another moment from that chaotic week. Footage showed him singing “Lose Yourself” by Eminem on the day the Ryder Cup descended into chaos. The Times reported that Rea opted to sing karaoke rather than address concerns about the heckling just hours after the USA fell 11.5-4.5 down on a toxic second day at Bethpage Black.
With Rea now removed from office months after the Ryder Cup controversy, the PGA of America moves forward with Nathan Charnes as interim Acting President while Rea’s scheduled term — running until November — ends early.
Don Rea PGA of America Rory McIlroy Ryder Cup Bethpage Black Nathan Charnes Derek Sprague Erica Stoll Justin Thomas Luke Donald Marco Simone
About time.
So he got fired because of what fans said? Like… PGA should’ve controlled it sooner, not just now. Also Bethpage was wild, I’m not surprised Rory got targeted.
Not sure I get it, did he personally tell people to yell at McIlroy? Sounds like the PGA is doing damage control after the fact. “Goes with” big crowds?? That’s a weird way to talk about it.
If crowds were “distracting” the American guys then why were they letting it happen? Like the article says he shifted blame to Team USA crowd control, but isn’t that literally the job of the venue? I watched some clips and it was gross, Rory didn’t deserve that. Anyway, firing him doesn’t fix whatever happened that day but at least someone is accountable I guess.