“Hardest thing in golf is to win an away Ryder Cup”: Rory McIlroy sets his sights on emerging victorious at Bethpage in 2025
Rory McIlroy defeated Sam Burn in the singles match at the Ryder Cup on Sunday to guide Team Europe to their 12th victory. He finished as the top point getter for his team at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, earning four points in the five matches he played.
After winning the 44th edition of the prestigious biennial event, all the members of Team Europe attended a press conference at the venue. While speaking to the media, the Nothern Irishman stated that he would win the 2025 edition of the tournament at Bethpage.
In a post shared by the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy said:
"I think the hardest thing in golf is to win an away Ryder Cup. And we're going to do that at Bethpage."
Rory McIlroy also spoke about Team Europe's loss at the 2021 Ryder Cup in Whistling Straits. In the tournament, he earned just one point out of the four matches he played.
He added that he was disappointed and wanted to get redemption in Rome. He was quoted by Golf Digest as saying:
"It means an awful lot. I was so disappointed after Whistling Straits. We all were. And we wanted to come here to Rome this year and redeem ourselves a bit. We've got some fresh blood on the team that I think has worked really, really well."
Rory McIlroy explained that he needed to step up for his team, and he was thankful that he was able to achieve that goal.
"I just knew that I needed to put in a better performance for my teammates this week, and thankfully, I was able to do that," McIlroy said.
The Northern Irishman also spoke about his car parking incident with Patrick Cantlay's caddie Joe LaCava. He shared that the incident did not actually make him lose focus, instead, it gave him the "fuel" to perform better on Sunday.
McIlroy also revealed that he did not meet LaCava, but the latter has texted him and assured him that things would be fine between them.
How did Rory McIlroy perform in the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club?
Team Europe's 16.5 - 11.5 victory over Team USA had a huge role from the most experienced Ryder Cup player in the playing team. The Northern Irishman played five matches and lost just one.
Rory McIlroy partnered with Tommy Fleetwood in both foursome matches. The duo remained unbeatable and won both the matches on Friday and later on Saturday.
In the fourball matches, The four-time major champion partnered with Matt Fitzpatrick. Although the duo defeated Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffle on Friday, they did lose to Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark on Saturday.
On Sunday, Rory McIlroy came in a different mood as he defeated Team USA's Sam Burns by a margin of 3 & 1 in the fourth singles match at the Ryder Cup.