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“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.”
McIlroy returns to the Ryder Cup arena as the sixth man in history to complete a career grand slam, his already exalted status elevated further. Events at the Masters in April will serve as the reference point for this and so many other golfing years, regardless of whether or not Luke Donald and co can topple Keegan Bradley’s USA. McIlroy’s lovability was as noteworthy as the fact he ticked off his final major after a wait of more than a decade. Those words from Italy, though, prove McIlroy had Bethpage on his mind long before Augusta National was conquered.
“When we won at Medinah in 2012 I didn’t appreciate what it meant,” says McIlroy. “It was only my second Ryder Cup and my first away and I think I didn’t appreciate the magnitude of what was happening, especially the way it played out that Sunday afternoon. It is a bit of a distant memory. I would love that feeling again. I can take myself back there, absolutely, and the feelings I had were great, amazing. I just don’t think I really appreciated how difficult that was to do.”
There is a broader theory the Ryder Cup would benefit from even the occasional away success. “Absolutely it would,” McIlroy nods. “It’s not that it needs any life breathed into the event but it would add an extra dimension. One of the really intriguing things about the Ryder Cup now is; what team is going to blink first? It’s almost like holds of serve, who is going to break serve? When the Americans came to Rome, it had been 30 years since they won away.”
McIlroy could have faced Patrick Cantlay, for whom LaCava caddies, in match three on that Ryder Cup Sunday. After conversation with Donald, McIlroy decided it would be better to remove himself from that situation. McIlroy instead saw off Sam Burns in match four. “Historically I have gone third and they knew that,” McIlroy says. “I think it was better for me, better for the team, better for all of us. On Sunday you don’t care who you win your point against.”
In 2016 at Hazeltine, McIlroy was at the centre of drama involving US fans and Patrick Reed. When Rome and the vociferous nature of New York fans is added to the mix, it is reasonable to ponder what may transpire next. The tribal nature of a non-tribal sport triggers strange things. “It is not planned,” McIlroy insists. “It is not as if any of this is premeditated.
“I think it’s inevitable something is going to happen in New York. It might not involve me but it is inevitable that something will happen, whether like in Rome last time or something else.
“I just think when you go into that environment and you are there for five or six days and the crowd are on you for eight hours, so many days in a row … it is inevitable it will get to someone or get to us as a group at some point. We are just going to have to do a really good job of managing that, having each other’s backs and protecting each other.”
McIlroy does not so much roll his eyes as laugh when Bryson DeChambeau’s approach is raised. DeChambeau crumbled as McIlroy triumphed at Augusta. Somewhat curiously, then, the American intends to “chirp in the ear” of McIlroy at Bethpage. The response is a withering one. “I think the only way he gets attention is by mentioning other people,” says McIlroy. “That is basically what I think of that. To get attention he will mention me or Scottie [Scheffler] or others.”
The venue for this interview serves as an endearing reminder of McIlroy’s march into the pantheon of greats. Seven years ago in this very locker room McIlroy shared his thoughts with me as Tiger Woods walked past us. Woods was to win that week in Atlanta amid rapturous scenes topped only by his Masters glory the following spring. McIlroy was still waiting, waiting, waiting for the Green Jacket. Back in precisely the same spot in 2025 McIlroy signs Masters flags as we talk and Woods is no longer a competitive element.
When McIlroy reached his holy grail at the Masters this year external sentiment turned towards what he may do next. This was unfair, of course, and grated with the man himself. McIlroy adds: “People started to go on about the calendar slam. I was like, ‘Let me just enjoy this one.’
“I think that is what people want from sportspeople. They don’t want sportspeople to say they are satisfied because that gives off the idea that you are not putting 100% into what you are doing, which we all are. When you have had a goal for so long and you achieve it, it just takes a little time to reset some goals.”
This took McIlroy into fascinating psychological territory. On one hand, he could gladly have taken months away from the game. On the other, there was a natural instinct to rededicate himself to his craft. Even when the Ryder Cup was the prominent thing in the 36-year-old’s mind, he rolled in a 30ft birdie putt to secure a playoff spot at an Irish Open he was to eventually win.
“When you have that feeling, when you win that thing, it is almost like all the other stuff doesn’t matter in a way,” McIlroy says. “Not that it actually doesn’t. It is a double edged sword.
“I have realised over the past few years that when all is said and done, people aren’t going to remember how much money I won. What they are going to remember is how many majors I won. So getting up for those? Not a concern at all. It’s the week-in, week-out stuff that I have found a bit of a struggle at times. The majors and the Ryder Cup are the five things in golf that at this point really matter to me.
“It was unbelievable to win the Masters with [caddie and best friend] Harry [Diamond]. I would love to win an Open with Harry. I would love to get that US Open that we have been so close to. It’s sometimes not just about me, it is about the other people who have been on the journey too.”
McIlroy, whose home is in Florida, always looks content in Europe. There is a “reminiscent” feeling for him there that seems to feed into his Ryder Cup desires. “I think about my early days as a pro,” he says. “It brings me back to a simpler time in life where I was just so happy to travel the world and play golf. I enjoy playing in front of home crowds, which I struggled with earlier in my career. These people have watched me grow up. You can definitely disconnect with the wider golf world. It maybe doesn’t feel all encompassing. I find it easier to detach from every day tour life.”
Being Rory McIlroy. It is a concept nobody else can relate to, although so many try. Offer the man himself a little peace and quiet and he might just snap your hand off.
“It is a struggle for me to love the position I am in all the time,” he admits. “There are times when I would like to just breeze through life and not get the attention I do but I understand that with what I have done in the game, that is just part of it. There are times that I yearn for a little anonymity and having a quieter life. That will happen one day. This is my time in the sun. In 10 years it won’t be and that is my time to enjoy that part of it.” Enjoy him while he lasts.
