Ryder Cup fans FIGHT in stands as police scramble to contain ugly scenes

Tensions reached boiling point at the Ryder Cup, leading to a brutal fistfight in the grandstand on the 18th green at Bethpage Black. Saturday's play was fraught with emotion, with Rory McIlroy facing a barrage of jeers from the crowd, prompting the PGA of America to issue warnings.

The escalating tension between McIlroy and the spectators led to state police descending on Bethpage Black in an attempt to control the situation.

A full line of state troopers was deployed along the ropes of the match involving McIlroy and Shane Lowry against Cameron Young and Justin Thomas, with police dogs also present. Lowry even had to be restrained from confronting a spectator.

While fan-on-fan violence is always a potential risk at sports events where emotions and alcohol are high, it had largely been avoided until late in the day when a fistfight reportedly broke out in the grandstand on the 18th.

Details about what sparked the fight or who was involved remain unclear, but it was described as "ugly" on an afternoon when anger threatened to spill onto the course, reports the Mirror US.

READ MORE: Ryder Cup chaos sees heated Bryson DeChambeau and Tommy Fleetwood clash before caddie's shove

READ MORE: Police forced into Ryder Cup action as Rory McIlroy refuses to take shot after crowd taunt

Fuelled by the abuse McIlroy was receiving, which led to an official complaint, Lowry had to be held back by his caddie. European golfers have faced intense criticism from the gallery throughout the event, with McIlroy enduring chants of "F*** you, Rory" and persistent heckling at nearly every shot.

After teeing off at the 11th hole, Lowry singled out a spectator who had made derogatory comments. The Irish golfer then moved towards the crowd, seemingly ready to confront them directly - but his caddie held him back, and security stepped in before things could escalate.

Earlier during the fourballs, Lowry lost his cool and shouted a two-word expletive at a spectator following his successful putt. This incident followed McIlroy's own confrontation with a fan during the morning foursomes when he was paired with Tommy Fleetwood.

In other incidents, Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler's caddie, Ted Scott, had a heated exchange with Fleetwood and Francesco Molinari.

Justin Rose asked DeChambeau's caddie, Gregory Bodine, to move aside while he was reading his putt. After Rose sank his putt and celebrated with a fist pump, DeChambeau responded by sinking a birdie of his own.

As they left the green heading towards the 16th tee box, DeChambeau quickly caught up with his opponents and gave Fleetwood a piece of his mind following his team-mate's gesture. Scott joined DeChambeau and spoke sternly to Rose until Molinari stepped in between the golfer and caddie.

Scott continued to berate Molinari, getting up close and personal with the Italian before Fleetwood and his caddie, Ian Finnis, intervened to separate the pair.

For Team USA, their battle was limited to off-field antics. Europe head into the final day of the Ryder Cup with a commanding 11.5-4.5 lead.