Rory McIlroy explains himself during Ryder Cup controversy and leads Europeans to victory

Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry celebrated the Ryder Cup victory in Rome when it was obvious that Europe had won. They galloped down the 18th fairway. The Irishman, whose match was yet to be decided, squatted down and held McIlroy up in his arms like a pitcher and catcher celebrating a World Series win.

Team Europe, with a five-point advantage heading into the Sunday singles matches, allowed things to become interesting for just a moment before reclaiming Ryder Cup 16 1/2 – 11/2. The crowd erupted in a chorus, “Ole!” Ole! Ole! McIroy also joined in singing “Champione!” Champione! “Champione!” He proclaimed before long. He opened a bottle, sipped the champagne and revelled in his victory.

McIlroy had been as angry as he has ever been less than 24 hours before, after losing the four-ball match in the 44th Ryder Cup.

The match had been turned around by the American Pat Cantlay, who had made a 43-foot putt on hole 18 to win the match. His caddie Joe LaCava swaggered about the green with his hat in the air and interrupted McIlroy as he prepared to make a putt for the tie.

Lowry had to restrain him after he hurled insults at American caddie Jim “Bones Mackay” and forced him to get into a vehicle heading to the team’s hotel.

McIlroy explained, “He was in the wrong place and at the wrong moment.” “I apologized to Bones in a text message this morning.”

Social media went crazy with the video. McIlroy claimed Lowry took him to a cold plunge in the hotel pool so he could cool off.

The person who deserves the most credit in turning McIlroy’s frown upside-down has been dead for centuries. McIlroy read Marcus Aurelius’ meditations on the way to the course. Marcus Aurelius was a Stoic philosopher and Roman Emperor from 161-180 AD.

McIlroy stated, “Given that we’re in Rome right now, I thought this would be a great time to review some of his ideas.” “Humility, gentleness and patience are more valuable virtues than frustration and anger.” “I had to let out my frustration but then I needed to reset.”

The “Hat-gate” controversy began after a social-media posting claimed that there was “a fracture” within the U.S. Ryder Cup team and that Patrick Cantlay protested that players were not paid to participate in the Ryder Cup, but they did receive a donation of $200,000 to a charity. Cantlay refused to wear a hat to show his disapproval. Cantlay denied the report, but fans still threw their hats around, singing “Patrick, Patrick where’s your cap?” and waving them at every opportunity. Another fan shouted “Come to work with me in the factory.” We are paid per hour.”

Cantlay accepted it all with a smile, and gave a thumbs-up like a politician. Cantlay’s win in the early hours of Saturday gave a small glimmer to the U.S. team that they could make a comeback after a deficit of 10 1/2 – 5. The incident with Joe LaCava, the caddie in the European team’s bag, also served to fuel their determination to not give any mercy.

“I didn’t allow it to take away from what has been a fantastic weekend.” McIlroy stated that he used the incident from last night in his favor. “I believe what happened in that last green gave us a bit of fire in our bellies today to try and achieve the goal.”

McIlroy’s best performance in seven Ryder Cups was his 3-1 victory over Sam Burns, capping a record of the most points by any player. McIlroy’s, John Rahm’s and Viktor Hovland’s combined record was 9-2-3. The U.S. Captain’s Picks were, on the other hand, a dismal 4-12-4.

McIlroy cried on Saturday two years ago after losing his third match in a row and being benched during the afternoon session. His emotion showed how much he loved the event. What was the worst part of the team’s loss at Whistlingstraits in Wisconsin?

The score was 19-9. It hurt. “It really hurt,” he said. “I didn’t feel that I gave my best performances, and I didn’t feel like i did my part for my team. You know, some of us who were on that squad wanted to return, and at the beginning of the week, everyone was asking, “Do you want revenge? Do you want revenge on the U.S.?” This wasn’t revenge. “This was about redemption, and showing what we can do.”

It took time to build the victory in the rolling hills near the Colosseum. European Captain Luke Donald developed a plan that heavily relied on data analytics. His decision to begin the first two sessions of the tournament with foursomes, or alternate shot, helped the Euros gain a commanding advantage.

Donald said, “I don’t believe many people gave us the chance, especially not two years ago.” “Well, they were wrong, yeah.”

The team came together around a fire pit during a scouting mission to Marco Simone.

McIlroy stated, “I learned things about these guys. I thought I had known them for quite some time but I found out something new about them.”

It was expected that this would be the first year in 30 years the Americans won on European soil. What was meant to be a year of transition for the Euros led by Ludvig Hojgaard and the 22-year old Nicolai Aberg, who had a young youth movement, turned out to be more capable than expected.

The home team won for the eighth time out of nine games played in the biennial tournament.

Victorious in Rome @Rolex | #RyderCup pic.twitter.com/v8mubTNvHC

— Ryder Cup (@rydercup) October 1, 2023

The next Ryder Cup is scheduled to be held at Bethpage Black in New York. McIlroy was asked if the home-field advantage in the Ryder Cup has become too important. He replied, “I’ve been saying this for probably the last six or seven years, to anyone who will listen: one of the greatest accomplishments in golf is winning a away Ryder Cup. We’ll do that at Bethpage.”

McIlroy smirked as he beat the table with his fist. His teammates cheered and he smiled in victory.