Rory McIlroy admits his impressive tee shot at 17 was among one of his best: “I just wanted to give Tommy Fleetwood a chance”

Rory McIlroy's morning at the 2023 Ryder Cup was nothing short of ideal, as the European team got off to a blazing start. Sweeping the foursome matches 4-0, the European golfers were at the top of their game from the very beginning.

Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood were paired together for their morning match against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. The match was an exciting one, going right down to the wire.

The American duo birdied their 16th hole to reduce Europe's lead to just 1. Patrick Cantlay delivered on the 17th hole, hitting the ball straight into the fairway, opening up the possibility of finishing with a birdie. At this point, McIlroy stepped up to the tee and delivered a very important shot.

His clutch tee shot at the 17th hole gave Europe the victory they needed for the clean sweep. Reminiscing about his shot later, McIlroy said via Golf.com:

“I have hit a lot of good shots in my time. That’s right up there. I didn’t know how close Patrick [Cantlay] had hit his, but I just wanted to give Tommy [Fleetwood] a chance to at least stay 1 up going down the last. I was pretty certain we weren’t going to go down the last, but if I keep hitting iron shots like that, then I’m going to have a pretty good week.”

Rory McIlroy feeling confident going into day 2 of the 2023 Ryder Cup

With Europe holding the lead with a score of 6.5-1.5, Team USA has some serious catching up to do. However, Rory McIlroy is confident that the European team can continue with the momentum and deliver a good performance once again.

“Amazing to sweep a session. I can't remember the last time Europe has done that. We can't get complacent at all. It was an absolute pleasure to have this man (Tommy Fleetwood) alongside me. He can play with anyone. I’m just so happy he’s my partner this week and happy to get a point on the board for Europe."

Day 2 of the Ryder Cup will see the following foursome pairs take off:

Match 1: Rory McIlroy/Tommy Fleetwood (Europe) vs. Jordan Spieth/Justin Thomas (USA)
Match 2: Viktor Hovland/Ludvig Aberg (Europe) vs. Scottie Scheffler/Brooks Koepka (USA)
Match 3: Shane Lowry/Sepp Straka (Europe) vs. Max Homa/Brian Harman (USA)
Match 4: Jon Rahm/Tyrrell Hatton (Europe) vs. Patrick Cantlay/Xander Schauffele (USA)

Team US will have to get back into the momentum and try to take some points off of Team Europe, who are all geared up to have a strong day once again.