PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Two thick, beefy strong boys with snug polos and holstered pistols walked, chests out, up to the area behind TPC Sawgrass’ 12th green Sunday. As they approached the hill, another security officer smiled at two of the day’s main characters.

“It’s the Bash Brothers!” the man joked.

The three of them waited behind the green in the moments before play restarted at the final round of the Players Championship after a four-hour weather delay halted what appeared to be Rory McIlroy’s runaway moment. By then, roughly two-thirds of the massive crowd understandably left, but the ones who decided to stay all day? They were there for Rory. His gallery remained full. As the van dropped off McIlroy to continue his round, the fans loudly chanted “Ro-ry! Ro-ry! Ro-ry!” They applauded as he birdied the hole to take a three-shot lead. Most of Ponte Vedra seemed to be pulling for McIlroy.

But that support was not why the Bash Brothers were there.

That nickname was earned, for all the hecklers the two police officers kicked out of the Players Championship that day. One or two officers follow every PGA Tour group all year to act as security for the game’s stars. It’s normal, making sure no unauthorized people get inside the ropes and the crowd doesn’t do anything out of line. Most days they won’t have a single issue.

But by the time McIlroy hit his approach from the 18th fairway, one of the Bash Brothers claimed to have kicked out 15 people at least. Because, for a very minuscule, annoying, yet loud minority, McIlroy is becoming a target for heckling right now. How he handles it will tell us so much.

As McIlroy approached the 18th tee Sunday, tied for the lead trying to win the tour’s marquee event, he looked around at the crowd. He scanned his head as if trying to take it all in. And that crowd rose up and roared for him.

Until one man shouted, “Hit it in the water, Rory!” The crowd groaned. It was isolated enough that McIlroy certainly heard it. No problem, as he launched an absolutely beautiful draw around the bended fairway along the water. By the end of the day, McIlroy was headed to a three-hole Monday playoff with J.J. Spaun, one he would win going away to claim his second Players.

But is it a challenge for McIlroy to tune those heckles out?

“Yeah, absolutely,” he admitted.

“But I think when you’re in business mode you’re just trying to keep your head down and stay in your own little world for the most part.”

McIlroy is not new to fame. And he’s not new to criticism. He’s one of the bigger lightning rods for discussion in the sport, and he’s heard (and historically laughed along with) every crack about his deflating losses in majors like the 2024 U.S. Open at Pinehurst.

Until a week ago.

McIlroy was playing a Tuesday practice round when he hit his tee shot on 18 into the water and a young-ish fan shouted, “Just like 2011 at Augusta!” while his buddy filmed. McIlroy hit another tee shot, and before going to his ball he walked over to the fan, grabbed the friend’s phone that was filming and walked away. It turned out the guy who yelled this was Texas golfer Luke Potter, who won the amateur tournament in town just days earlier. That only added to the bizarre nature of the incident. Security kicked Potter and his friend out, but a third party filmed the incident, posted it online and it went viral.

Seeing McIlroy react that way was surprising, and perhaps it shed light on a deeper insecurity of McIlroy. He can joke and laugh about Pinehurst. Maybe even the 2022 Open Championship or the 2023 U.S. Open. But that 2011 Masters when he led by four shots and shot a Sunday 80 to finish 10 back? That’s the big one.

That reaction is human. It is relatable.

There’s just one problem. The reaction encouraged the masses. Or at least a particular segment of it. It’s why the Bash Brothers had such a busy day. Perhaps even more interestingly, it’s why there was such a short leash to kick those people out.

As McIlroy walked to Sawgrass’ famous island 17th green, one fan yelled “2011 Augusta, Rory!” McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, called the Bash Brothers over and the fan was taken away.

We don’t know what led to each anecdotal example, so we can’t be sure how bad each one was. We just know a good deal of them happened. The PGA Tour has in its code of conduct specific rules related to fan behavior, and it takes a firm zero-tolerance policy when it comes to things like heckling. Specifically, it makes clear you are at risk of expulsion, for “rude, vulgar or other inappropriate comments or gestures or any words or actions,” including “verbal or physical harassment of players, caddies, volunteers, officials, staff, guests and/or spectators.”

The tour doesn’t appear to have an overall fan problem. There was concern when gambling was legalized that it would lead to severe issues with spectators attempting to shout during backswings or otherwise affect results. The tour hasn’t seen that happen, other than some pleading with a player to win their bet or complaining that they lost it (which is indeed a problem but not too dramatic of one).

Most events go on with no issue, but we also live in a new era of social media where it’s common for some to revel in the chance to get a reaction and gain some attention by posting it online. That reaction is everything. And while maybe 40 years ago nobody would know it even happened, it now has the chance to go viral and be seen by the world.

That’s why Tuesday’s practice round incident was so consequential. For that minuscule minority, McIlroy provided a target. The 2011 Masters at Augusta. It’s now his exhaust port in the Death Star — hecklers know they can hit it and watch it go boom. Diamond being the one to call security over for a dumb but generally innocuous comment (“2011 Augusta, Rory!”) only confirmed it.

Because yes, the tour has its code of conduct, but it’s generally the players or their caddies who act on it. Many players ignore any stupidity, and then it goes away. McIlroy generally always had.

We’re seeing what happens when you flinch. At Torrey Pines last month, a fan told McIlroy to blame his caddie, Diamond, for a missed put. McIlroy, always quick to defend Diamond, told the fan to “shut the f—k up.”

Former U.S. Ryder Cup captain Zach Johnson got heckled by rowdy spectators at the 2024 WM Phoenix Open for the U.S. loss in Rome, and he went over and argued with them. That went viral, of course. So two months later at the Masters — the one place “patrons” are supposedly so well behaved — Johnson made a mess of the 12th hole and heard sarcastic cheers. A hot mic caught Johnson turning and yelling, “Oh, f—k off.” He’s now perhaps the most consistent target for heckling in golf.

Before that it was Bryson DeChambeau, a top target during his feud with Brooks Koepka. After a painful playoff loss to Patrick Cantlay at the 2021 BMW Championship, a fan yelled the taunt, “Great job, Brooksie!” and DeChambeau lost it. “You know what? Get the f–k out!” DeChambeau yelled.

Things were so bad once for Colin Montgomerie that Golf Digest made buttons. (Stuart Franklin / Getty Images)

It’s not all recent. Take Colin Montgomerie. Back in the early 2000s, he had become such a target for heckling in the U.S. that it got to him. They called him “Mrs. Doubtfire” and made fun of his figure. And he reacted. It bothered him so much he threatened to boycott U.S. events. So at the 2002 U.S. Open at Bethpage Black, Golf Digest made 25,000 buttons to handout reading “Be Nice To Monty.”

The point for McIlroy is that these kinds of comments will now continue. The through line on all of this is that spectators pile on when they know they can make you mad. Immaturity, alcohol and/or comedic laziness lead to a lot of generic dudes thinking they’re clever when repeating the same lines. That stinks, the same way somebody yelling “Mashed potatoes!” after a tee shot or “Get in the hole” on an approach gets old fast.

The vast majority of fans sincerely love McIlroy. Maybe that’s difficult to remember when the negativity stands out. McIlroy is playing the best overall golf in the world. He won his sixth DP World Tour championship in December. He won at Pebble Beach last month. Add in a huge Players win Sunday. This could be McIlroy’s moment.

Yet people aren’t going to suddenly change. And each ejected fan or viral video of an angry reaction only provides more fuel to the fire, and the comments will continue. The Ryder Cup is coming, in New York of all places. All the power to him if that’s how he wants to react, but the test will be how he plays in response.

Sunday, he did let Spaun come back from a three-shot deficit to force a playoff. Then again, as the fan yelled “Hit it in the water” on 18, McIlroy hit one of the prettier shots you can hit. Which response he channels more will tell us everything about his 2025.

(Top photo: Richard Heathcote / Getty Images)

As Maine continues to be a focal point of the sports culture debate about transgender athletes in women’s sports, the state’s Public Schools Superintendent Ryan Scallon has now said his piece on the situation. 

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of Civil Rights (OCR) announced that it found the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association and Greely High School all in violation of Title IX following an investigation into trans-inclusion in girls’ sports. 

“What HHS is asking of the Maine Department of Education, the Maine Principals’ Association (MPA) and Greely High School is simple — protect female athletes’ rights. Girls deserve girls-only sports without male competitors. And if Maine won’t come to the table to voluntarily comply with Title IX, HHS will enforce Title IX to the fullest extent permitted by the law,” OCR Acting Director Anthony Archeval said in a statement to Fox News Digital. 

However, there has been pushback to this finding, as well as the HHS’ warning that the state has 10 days to correct its policies through a signed agreement or risk referral to the U.S. Department of Justice, from several authorities in Maine, which now includes Scallon.

The superintendent likened the current transgender athlete battle to past U.S. civil rights issues during a recent statement.

“In our country’s history, there have been many civil rights struggles, including, but not limited, to fights for women’s rights to vote, for racial equality and for gay marriage. In each of these fights, the opposition in part was driven by fear in attempts to ostracize other people who look, act or believe in something different.

MAINE RESPONDS TO TRUMP ADMIN’S DECLARATION STATE VIOLATED TITLE IX BY ALLOWING TRANSGENDERS IN GIRLS SPORTS

“Today, I see that happening again with transgender or non-binary students, and in particular, our transgender athletes. When I came to this district, I was focused on the work of educating students in improving our outcomes. I wasn’t interested in proactively speaking out on social matters or political matters. That said, it is simply unacceptable that there are efforts from our federal government, and some in our state, to ostracize a student population that is estimated to be less than one percent of our student population. 

“In light of this, I cannot continue to sit silently.”

The Maine Principals’ Association issued a response to Fox News Digital after the OCR’s announcement on Monday. 

“The alleged violation is due to MPA’s policy which is a direct result of the Maine Human Rights Acts mandate that athletes be allowed to participate on the teams which align with their gender identity. MPA’s policy is consistent with Maine State Law,” the response read.

The Trump administration expanded its Title IX investigation into Maine last week, citing violations of President Donald Trump’s executive order stating biological males are not allowed to compete in women’s sports in educational and athletic institutions. 

Trump’s Executive Order 14201, better known as “Keeping Men out of Women’s Sports,” was signed to “protect female student athletes, in the women’s category, from having to ‘compete with or against or having to appear unclothed before males.’” In turn, the executive order also mandated each federal department to “review grants to education programs and, where appropriate, rescind funding to programs that fail to comply with the policy established in this order.”

Republican legislators in Maine called on Gov. Janet Mills, a Democrat, to comply with Trump’s executive order with millions in federal funding for K-12 schools being threatened as a result of not doing so. 

Maine Gov. Janet Mills and President Donald Trump at the White House. (Getty Images)

“If Maine Democrats continue to double down on allowing biological males to participate in girls’ sports, our students stand to lose hundreds of millions of dollars of federal funding. Gov. [Janet] Mills and legislative Democrats have a renewed opportunity to do the right thing, to ensure restored funding and a fair and level playing field for Maine girls,” state Rep. Laurel Libby, R–Auburn, said this past Thursday. 

Libby became a prominent figure in this Maine debate after posting a Greely High School pole vaulter on social media. The pole vaulter competed as recently as June 2024 as a biological male, and ended up winning a state championship as a woman. 

Democrats in the Maine state legislature censured Libby for the post, which showed the athlete competing as a male, while next to an image of the athlete winning the women’s pole-vaulting competition in the Maine Class B indoor championship in February. 

Trump called out Maine shortly after Libby’s post began to stir up debate. Trump had a public argument with Gov. Mills at the White House, where he threatened state funding if Maine did not “clean that up.” Mills replied that she would see Trump “in court.”

Mills, in congruence with the Maine Principals’ Association, argues that Trump’s executive order conflicts with Maine’s current Human Rights law. As a result, following the executive order would defy state law, which currently allows athletic participation based on the person’s stated gender identity.

“No President – Republican or Democrat – can withhold federal funding authorized and appropriated by Congress and paid for by Maine taxpayers in an attempt to coerce someone into compliance with his will,” Mills said in a statement when the HHS initially announced its investigation. “It is a violation of our Constitution and of our laws, which I took an oath to uphold.”

Fox News’ Jackson Thompson and Alec Schemmel contributed to this report.

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LEXINGTON, Ky. — On the eve of UCLA’s biggest game of the season, there was a fluid situation in the locker room.

The water boy couldn’t find anything to drink.

Nothing on hand aligned with Finn Barkenaes’ new sponsor, Niagara Bottling, leading to jokes about a personal prohibition.

“He can’t drink certain kind of drinks because he’s got an NIL deal,” Bruins coach Mick Cronin said of the head student manager who recently became the first water boy to land a national brand sponsorship. “And I was looking around, and they said, ‘No, it’s true.’”

Barkenaes can actually drink whatever he wants, but he’d strongly prefer it be a Niagara product.

The Diamond Bar-based company recently selected the senior business economics major to be its pitchman for what might be the ultimate Cinderella story of March Madness.

“Let’s be real, water boys don’t get NIL deals,” Barkenaes said, “so it’s been pretty cool to be part of something that’s, like, flip the script on things and get recognized, even if it is in kind of a joking manner.”

During the next few weeks, Barkenaes will be featured on Niagara’s Instagram and other social media platforms, the tagline being that 2025 is the “Year of the water boy.”

“At Niagara, we believe unsung heroes like Finn keep top athletic programs running strong with high-quality water,” said Julia Buchanan, the company’s vice president of marketing and communications. “He was the perfect choice as our first-ever NIL water boy — his dedication to UCLA athletics is unmatched, and he plays a vital role in supporting a legendary program.”

At first, Barkenaes thought the whole thing was a joke. A water boy pitchman? Seriously?

He realized otherwise once he started hopping on Zooms with company executives from around the country, leading to his signing a deal with undisclosed terms. Barkenaes did divulge that he’s already received several cases of water, with more likely to come.

“I’m jealous,” Cronin said as his team prepared to face Utah State on Thursday at Rupp Arena in the first round of the NCAA tournament. “That’s what I just told him.”

Handing out water might be the easiest thing Barkenaes does. He and the other managers sweep the practice court, load equipment onto buses and planes, tape simulated basketball courts onto hotel ballroom floors and try — in an often futile effort — to stop the team’s big men in practice while wearing oversized pads on their arms.

“He’s hitting us, pushing us,” center Aday Mara said of Barkenaes.

This isn’t the first time Barkenaes has been called a water boy. Arizona and Arizona State fans once used the term to heckle him, but the taunts had the opposite of their intended effect.

UCLA men’s basketball manager Finn Barkenaes poses alongside Niagara Bottling products. Barkenaes has an endorsement deal with the company.

(Niagara Bottling)

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“The whole idea is that we’re out of the spotlight, and the people who work this job do it because they love basketball and they love UCLA,” said Barkenaes, who wants to work in wealth management or finance after graduation. “All of the staff with me, they’re not in it for the spotlight and the recognition, so I think people kind of embrace it, it’s kind of like a chip-on-your-shoulder thing. It’s like, ‘I’m the water boy, I’m the one that people typically don’t care about.’”

Now he’s the talk of the locker room, players calling Barkenaes “Money man,” “Niagara boy” and “Water boy.”

He just smiles, a nobody soaking in success.