Rory McIlroy has been left embarrassed after recalling his past comments where he claimed the Ryder Cup was “not that important.” The four-time major champion is making his seventh consecutive Ryder Cup appearance, but has not always been a fan of the prestigious tournament.
McIlroy qualified for this year’s 12-man European Ryder Cup team via automatic qualification with an impressive 404.8 points, the most of anyone on the team. The Northern Irishman topped both the World and European Points lists after another consistent season.
After missing the cut at the Masters, he recorded top 10 finishes in the U.S. Open, the USPGA Championship and The Open to go with his triumph at the Scottish Open in July, standing him in good stead as Europe aim to regain the Ryder Cup they lost on US soil in 2021.
But back in 2009 the event was not something which McIlroy gave any thought to, and he has now been asked to revisit the comments, 14 years on. “It’s not that an important event for me,” he said back in 2009.
“It’s an exhibition at the end of the day. Obviously, I’ll try my best for the team but I’m not going to be running around fist pumping.”
The Ryder Cup means everything
McIlroy was then asked about the comments over a decade on. “I said that in my naivety as a young, swash-buckling lad,” he admitted while laughing about the quote.
“I now have been a part of the Ryder Cup a lot and what those three quotes are couldn’t be further from the truth. Obviously I have watched Ryder Cups on TV, I cheered for the European team and I played team golf before.
“But it’s just a completely different environment once you get in there and seeing how much it means to everyone. It is the purest competition in golf. For me, it doesn’t get any better than that.”
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McIlroy’s first Ryder Cup came back in 2010 where he helped Europe to victory at Celtic Manor in Wales. McIlroy has featured a further five times, winning in 2012, 2014 and 2018, but suffered a 19-9 defeat at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin in 2021 and is now hoping to get his revenge.
“I think the whole European Ryder Cup team is going to carry that defeat at Whistling Straits into Rome and we’re going to be better because of it. As much as the stupid quotes that I said earlier in my career, everyone should strive to be a part of the Ryder Cup.
“It’s the best feeling in the world. Everyone will hopefully win individual titles and do great things in the game as an individual, but nothing beats the feeling of winning a Ryder Cup as part of that team.”
The Ryder Cup is being played in Italy for the first time, Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome is the host venue with Friday the start of three days of intense competition.
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