When a 21-year-old Rory McIlroy made his first European Ryder Cup team in 2010, he wasn’t all that enthused. The budding star called the event an exhibition, saying it wasn’t all that important to him.
Oh, has his perspective changed.
Older, wiser and more experienced, McIlroy comes to Bethpage Black to play his eighth Ryder Cup, the most by any player on either side, with his heart full.
“I got into that team room at Celtic Manor (in 2010), and I just saw how much it meant to everyone,” said McIlroy on Thursday. “I was like, maybe I got this wrong.”
On Friday, he will play as the on-course leader of his side, trying to guide his 11 teammates to one of the more difficult results: a win on U.S. soil. He will do it with his clubs but also with his voice and emotions, trying to find a perfect balance of the two.
That hasn’t always been easy. Most weeks, when he tees it up on the PGA Tour, the Northern Irishman is a star, loved by fans at every step. This week, while he’ll undoubtedly get some support, he’ll feel the jeers and boos from the fans lining up on the American side.
McIlroy has played up to the crowd at past Ryder Cups on U.S. soil, never afraid to push back against their taunts. In 2016, in a singles match against Patrick Reed, he drained a long putt and let out a primal scream, put his hand to his ear and mouthed the words “I can’t hear you” while bouncing around the green. The fans shot back with boos and catcalls.
“I feel at times in the Ryder Cup, I have engaged too much with that, too much with the crowd,” McIlroy admitted at a press conference on Thursday. “But then there’s times where I haven’t engaged enough. So, it’s really just trying to find the balance of using that energy from the crowd to fuel your performance.”
Locating that equilibrium is also key for whoever partners with McIlroy through the first four sessions. A home game can be easy with fans on your side but playing an away match takes some extra patience. No one gets more attention from loudmouths than McIlroy, and for a golfer not used to it, it can be unsettling.
For Tommy Fleetwood, who is likely to pair with McIlroy in the two foursomes sessions, the atmosphere is one to be savoured rather than feared.
“I think whoever he gets to play with Rory this week, like what a privilege,” he said. “What an amazing thing to be able to do, to stand next to him on the golf course and play alongside him. He’s one of if not the greatest players of our generation. The energy that I think he has, that he brings to your team, that he brings to the Ryder Cup, I think is amazing. I think it’s great.”
McIlroy’s energy doesn’t just exist on the course. It’s also a vital part of the European team’s locker room. Captain Luke Donald tries to position McIlroy’s spot as equal to the other 11 players while acknowledging that his experience and achievements carry some extra weight. He is certainly a golfer the rest of the team looks up to and his words and passion can be felt by everyone.
“You can see the emotion both ways,” stated Donald. “When he lost in Wisconsin (in 2021) the tears were flowing. He felt, as the player he is, that he needed to play better and he felt he let himself down and the team. That’s kind of the brotherhood we have in our team. He sees himself as a leader but also just one of 12.”
There are a lot of familiar faces on the European 12 with only one newcomer, Rasmus Hojgaard, replacing his brother Nikolai. McIlroy knows the other 10 returnees understand everyone has to pull their weight if they are to win the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. While he’s happy to handle the majority of the barbs thrown at the team, all 12 players need to perform on the course.
While they come in as underdogs on the betting pages, there is little doubt among the players that they can beat the Americans on their own turf. That would be something special.
“I do think that winning another away Ryder Cup, just considering how hard that has been over the past 12 years,” said McIlroy, “it would be one of the greatest accomplishments of my career for sure.”
Related Stories