Rory McIlroy can banish Whistling Straits demons and deliver Ryder Cup glory for Europe.

Rory McIlroy was once said to be not overly bothered about the Ryder Cup. Now, he struggled to stop crying, closing out his singles match against Xander Schauffele at Whistling Straits in 2021.

After finishing his singles match against Xander Schauffele at Whistling Straits in 2021, Rory McIlroy walked off the 16th green and burst into tears.

This is a man who was once thought to not care too much about the Ryder Cup. Now he tries to stop crying, apologizing to his teammates for the three losses that preceded the win over Schauffele.

I never really cried or cared about what I did as an individual,” McIlroy said that afternoon in Wisconsin. I love being part of this team. I love my teammates very much and I should have done more for them this week. I just can’t wait to have another chance here.

Well, it’s almost time for another photo. And McIlroy will be on a mission to restore his losing record in the United States from two years ago. Of course, he wasn’t the only European to underperform as the Americans recorded an emphatic 19-9 victory.
In fact, only Spanish duo Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia stood out in the competition. But this is a European team filled with players whose best days in the Ryder Cup are clearly beyond them – especially the LIV trio of Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Paul Casey.

Between them, they scraped two points from ten matches. But this European team looks leaner, fresher and fitter. And don’t believe fitness cannot be an issue in golf – the hilly Marco Simone course, in temperatures expected to nudge thirty degrees, will be a physical test. And with an average of 30, this is one of the youngest Ryder Cup teams in recent memory.

That said, the American team is of a similar age and happens to have three of this year’s major champions in its ranks. Make no mistake, it’s a great America coming to Rome: Player Zach Johnson’s average world ranking is 13, compared with 30 for Europe.

The Americans have not won on European soil for 30 years but as it is, they are the favorites on most bookmakers’ lists. Half of their team is in the top 10 in the world rankings, led by Scottie Scheffler. One thing is almost certain: Europe will need to lead ahead of Sunday’s singles match if it wants to regain the cup.

But the form of most of Donald’s players going into the showdown has clearly given the skipper an extra spring in his step and this is a European twelve with a point to prove – that the old guard of Poulter, Garcia and co has had its day and it is time for the new brigade to shine.

But while the four rookies will have an important role, it is the Rory factor that could seal the deal for the Europeans. Make no mistake, McIlroy will be a man on a mission, and not only to make up for being partly culpable for Europe’s emphatic demise at Whistling Straits.

It is doubtful there is a single fellow professional golfer who does not believe McIlroy – in peak form – is the best golfer in the world. But on his 28-game Ryder Cup record, he has ‘only’ 12 wins and knows it should be more. McIlroy feels he owes Europe a landmark performance. And in Rome, he will deliver it.