An emotional Rory McIlroy promised to party “like there’s no tomorrow” after Europe held off a United States fightback to win the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black.
The host team rallied from 12-5 down at the start of Sunday’s singles session but Europe, who won just one match all day, held on to edge a thrilling contest 15-13.
McIlroy was beaten by one hole in his heavyweight contest with Scottie Scheffler but his stirring performances over the first two days, in the face of a hostile crowd, proved crucial to victory.
The Northern Irishman, holding back the tears after a draining week, said: “I am extremely proud to be a part of this team.
“As soon as we won in Rome we turned our attentions to doing something that was pretty impossible to do – to win in America and in New York.
“It’s been an amazing week. To hear the ‘Ole Ole’s’ here in America, to do something people thought we couldn’t do, the comments after Whistling Straits (in 2021), decades of American dominance – we took a lot from that, we let it fuel us.
“We got so lucky in getting an incredible leader in Luke Donald and he shepherded us through the process and he’s been amazing.
“Eleven of the 12 players from Rome came back. We did what we needed to do and we are going to celebrate like there is no tomorrow.”
