ROME – When it became a foregone conclusion that the European team had clinched the 44th Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, Rory McIlroy went galloping down the 18th fairway to celebrate with his teammate Shane Lowry. The burly Irishman’s match was still to be decided but he squatted and lifted McIlroy in his arms as if a catcher and pitcher celebrating a World Series victory.
Sporting a five-point lead heading into Sunday singles, Team Europe allowed things to get interesting for a hot second before reclaiming the Ryder Cup by a final score of 16 ½ – 11 ½. The partisan crowd broke into a chorus of Ole! Ole! Ole! And McIroy joined in the singing, “Champione! Champione! Champione!” Before long, he popped open a bottle of champagne, took a swig and relished in victory.
Less than 24 hours earlier, McIlroy was as mad as he’s ever been coming off the golf course on after losing a four-ball match at the 44th Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club.
Moments earlier, American Pat Cantlay had drained a 43-foot birdie putt at 18 to flip the match and his caddie Joe LaCava pranced around the green waving his hat and interrupted McIlroy’s preparation to attempt a putt to tie the match.
Joe LaCava, caddie for American Patrick Cantlay, gestures with his cap on the 18th green during the Saturday afternoon fourball matches at the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club in Rome, Italy. (Photo: Richard Heathcote/Getty Images)
His anger spilled out into the car park, where he cursed at American caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay and had to be restrained by Lowry, who forced him into a car headed to the team hotel.
“He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time,” McIlroy said. “I texted Bones this morning and apologized for that.”
Video of the incident went viral on social media. McIlroy said Lowry made sure he cooled off back at the hotel – literally – he took him to the cold plunge.
But the person who may deserve the most credit for turning McIlroy’s frown upside down has been dead for centuries. On the way to the course, McIlroy, who is a student of Stoicism, read some of the meditations of Marcus Aurelius, the Roman emperor from 161 to 180 AD and a Stoic philosopher.
“Seeing that we are in Rome, I thought it would be a good time to revisit some of his thoughts,” McIlroy said. “Humility and gentleness are better virtues than being frustrated and angry. I had to let it out but then I had to reset.”
Rory McIlroy of Team…
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