Northern Irishman reflects on an incredible year and what still drives him before Europe take on USA at Bethpage
“I think one of the biggest accomplishments in golf is winning an away Ryder Cup. And that is what we’re going to do at Bethpage.”
It was this parting shot that epitomised Rory McIlroy’s 2023 Ryder Cup. Stirred by a Saturday spat with the American caddie Joe LaCava, McIlroy came close to brawling in a car park before returning on day three to lead Europe’s comprehensive victory in Rome. Amid wild celebration, he promised the Ryder Cup would be retained. Exaggerated words or ones to stand by?
“I am maybe more confident than I was then,” McIlroy tells me in a quiet corner of the locker room at East Lake, Atlanta. “Obviously I said that in the euphoria of winning the Ryder Cup but I think with everything that has happened since; the way our team is shaping up, Luke agreeing to be the captain again, having the continuity of the team the way it is, the form of the Europeans all of this year but especially leading into the event.
“If I compare it to the last two away Ryder Cups that I have played, I would say we are in a way better spot. I still believe we are the underdogs but I feel more confident than I was in 2016 and 2021 that we can pull it off.”
