Paul McGinley's decision to concede a putt and a halved point to JJ Henry in their Ryder Cup singles on Sunday hasn't gone down well with everyone, it seems.

A stream of letters and e-mails from punters to the player's management company have vented anger because the Dubliner's decency in giving the American rookie a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th, resulting in their match being halved, also led to some torn-up betting slips.

McGinley's concession resulted in the Ryder Cup finishing in overall victory for Europe by 18½ points to 9½.

On Tuesday, an aggrieved punter wrote to the Racing Post complaining that he had a £10 bet on Europe to win by 19 points to 9 at odds of 80 to 1.

Had Henry missed his difficult putt that would have been the overall match score and the bet would have paid out £810.

Online spread-betting firm Sporting were also less than impressed: "It was a wonderful gesture from McGinley to offer JJ Henry a half, but it cost us £120,000," said a spokesman.

However, McGinley, who had no need to justify his actions, has taken the step of clarifying them in a statement on his website.

In the message, McGinley said: "I was on the green 40 feet from the hole in two and JJ was 25 feet from the hole in three. I putted down to six inches and the putt was conceded. As I was walking back to my caddie (Darren Reynolds) I noticed a streaker running on the green and I told him to watch JJ's line, as can be seen from the television footage.

"I then discussed with (European vice-captain) Des Smyth the overall standings of the match and whether I should concede his putt for a half. Des was non-committal. It was then that I noticed the streaker running around JJ as he lined up his putt.

"I then decided very quickly to concede JJ's putt and call the match a half as I thought it was the wrong environment to have to hole the putt to halve the match. I did not know at the time if JJ had missed it would have been a record win for Europe but I stand by my decision made at the time."

McGinley's action was not without precedent. There have been other notable Ryder Cup concessions: in 1999 the late Payne Stewart conceded a putt and with it his singles match against Colin Montgomerie in the wake of turbulent scenes that followed the US team's clinching of victory at Brookline.

Following McGinley's own Ryder Cup-winning putt at the Belfry in 2002, Tiger Woods conceded a putt for a half to Sweden's Jesper Parnevik on the 18th green.