Footage shows moment Rory McIlroy's wife Erica is hit by can of beer by fan in shocking incident

Shocking footage shows a golf fan appearing to hurl a beer can Rory McIlroy's wife Erica's head.

The fan can be seen appearing to launch a can of beer at the 38-year-old while she was walking away in a series of events which understandably irritated her husband.

The Northern Irish golfer underwent some abuse of his own from the American fans during the Ryder Cup, with European golfers and their families going through the ringer throughout the course.

Focusing on the sporting event itself, it was a sight to behold for golf fans around the world as the US went toe-to-toe with Europe in New York yesterday (28 September).

The former fought back but it was too little, too late, as Europe emerged victorious, retaining the trophy with a 15-13 victory.

McIlroy received chants of 'f**k you Rory' on multiple occasions, which was even encouraged by the MC, resulting in the former world number one telling the crowd to 'shut the f**k up' in a heated exchange.

The British athlete admitted that he doesn't 'think we should ever accept that in golf', adding: "I think golf should be held to a higher standard than what was seen out there this week. Golf has the ability to unite people.

"Golf teaches you very good life lessons. It teaches you etiquette. It teaches you how to play by the rules. It teaches you how to respect people."

He assured that fans in Ireland, where the next Ryder Cup will be held, will conduct themselves at a higher standard, especially following the incident with McIlroy's wife and a stray beer can.

You can view the footage below:

The fan can be seen standing the front of the crowd, appearing to lob a beer out of another fan's hand at Erica's head, before trying to flee the scene in bizarre scenes on Saturday afternoon.

McIlroy and Shane Lowry had just won on hole 18 and had come back to hole 17 to cheer on groups who were behind, while also celebrating with their own fans.

Security could be seen going up to the responsible fan before the video cut out, in what was just a snippet from a tension-fuelled weekend which saw America take the loss.

After a week of abuse, McIlroy was asked about how it was to hit a tough iron shot to close range after telling fans to 'shut the f**k up', he admitted: “Very f**king satisfying.”

Speaking about the strength of Erica, McIlroy's close mate and fellow golfer Shane Lowry said that the abuse she got was 'astonishing'.

Others on the Europe team also praised her reaction, as they hadn't heard of the incident until the following day, as she didn't make a big deal out of it all.

Speaking about the crowd's misconduct further, McIlroy explained: "There was a lot of language that was unacceptable and abusive behaviour. It’s a minority of the crowd, it’s not the majority. The majority of people here are true golf fans and are respectful, but I don’t think we should ever accept that in golf.

"It should be off limits but obviously it wasn’t this week. Erica is fine. She’s a very, very strong woman. She handled everything this week with class and poise and dignity like she always has. I love her and we’re going to have a good time celebrating tonight."

The identity of the man who threw the beer has not been made public.