Europe captain Luke Donald says winning the Ryder Cup would complete a perfect year for Rory McIlroy.
The 36-year-old will spearhead Europe’s charge for glory against the United States at Bethpage Black, hunting a sixth Ryder Cup triumph in eight competitions.
He arrives in New York on the back of a triumphant year in which he won the Masters to complete his long-awaited career grand slam, as well as high-profile successes at the Players Championship and Irish Open.
Despite such individual success, the Northern Irishman lives and breathes the Ryder Cup experience and Donald knows Europe winning on American soil this weekend would be a landmark achievement.
“Rory has talked about this many times, he loves what the Ryder Cup represents,” Donald said.
“You can see the emotion both ways. When he lost in Wisconsin (in 2021), the tears were flowing, how he felt like as the player he is – he’s a leader for the team – that he needed to play better and he felt like 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. We try and talk about that a lot. We all have an opportunity to contribute to the team.
“To have someone of his calibre, though, what he’s achieved in the game is tremendous.
“But for him, Ryder Cups are very, very important.
“He talked about how difficult it is to win an away Ryder Cup, and I think if he was able to be on this team, on a winning team, that would make this year even better than what he’s already done.”
McIlroy was in good spirits on Tuesday morning as he practised at the notoriously difficult course in Farmingdale.
He was on the receiving end of some playful boos from the American crowd on the first tee as he practised with Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood and Shane Lowry, but later stopped for photographs with fans.
He was also generous with his time for young fans who breached security to run on to the fairways during his practice round, signing shirts and balls.
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