Rory McIlroy fired a warning shot to the United States after Europe reclaimed the Ryder Cup at the end of a dramatic day at Marco Simone Golf Club in Italy.
The hosts began the Sunday singles with a five-point lead but were given a scare by their opponents, who threatened to pull off a remarkable comeback.
It wasn’t to be as Luke Donald’s side eventually prevailed 16.5 – 11.5 in Rome to continue the run of home winners in the biennial contest.
Not since the Miracle at Medinah in 2012 has the away team lifted golf’s famous gold trophy, which has some questioning whether home advantage is too strong.
Eight of the last nine Ryder Cups have been won by the hosts but McIlroy vowed that Europe would break that run in New York in two years.
“So I’ve said this for the last probably six or seven years to anyone that will listen: I think one of the biggest accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup,” McIlroy said. “And that’s what we’re going to do at Bethpage.”
McIlroy was in tears after he defeated Sam Burns in the Sunday singles to cap of his best ever Ryder Cup. The 34-year-old was one of few to feature in all five sessions and finished with four points to his name, the most of any of the 24 players who teed it up at Marco Simone.
The emotion that poured out of him was in stark contrast to the scene at Whistling Straits two years ago when he felt like he’d let his side down at the end of a record defeat.
“The score line, 19-9, that hurt,” he added. “Personally for me, I didn’t feel like I gave my best performance, and I didn’t feel like I did my part for the team. And you know, there was a few of us up here that were on that team that wanted to come back.
“And everyone at the start of the week was talking about, ‘Oh, do you want to get revenge, do you want to get revenge on the US Team?’ and this wasn’t about revenge. This was about redemption and showing what we could do. There’s been a plan in place. We’ve known months in advance, basically, what the game plan was, how we were going to execute it, and then it just comes down to everyone getting on the golf course and being themselves and playing the way they know that they can play….
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