Rory McIlroy harbored similar Ryder Cup captaincy dreams from a young age. When he thought back on one of the world’s most embarrassing defeats of his United States in recent memory with pride. This week, McIlroy is competing in his first tournament in India since helping Europe retain the prestigious cup in New York last month. He noted the importance of not forgetting Europe’s accomplishments. Instead, he contended, the story should focus on their successes, rather than getting mired in the controversies that surrounded the event.
McIlroy, pictured above during the 2014 Ryder Cup, has been a fixture in the last eight Ryder Cups. He expects to stay on as an important piece of the European squad through several more tournaments. “Absolutely, I would love to be a captain one day and I feel very fortunate that I’ve had a front-row seat playing under some of the best captains in history in the Ryder Cup,” he stated. He sees himself filling this leadership void, too, as long as he stays healthy enough to do so, by the middle of the 2030s. “I’d say not until the mid-2030s, hopefully, if I can keep playing well,” he added.
Just as McIlroy was booed by American fans at Bethpage Black during this year’s Ryder Cup. Instead, he surprised everybody by firing back, doubling down and returning fire with equal force. He does so with great pride with the results he had with the away-team winning. No measure of abuse will ever rob that pride from him. “Just over the last two weeks, being able to watch the highlights and just see, especially those first two days, in the foursomes and the fourballs how good (the) European team were,” he remarked.
He voiced disappointment that the discussion about the event has gone south. Rather than appreciating the European team’s victory, attention has turned to the terrible experiences. The sad thing is people are not remembering that and they are remembering the week for the wrong reason. I really want to change the narrative,” McIlroy said. As for playing on the losing side, I think the European side played unbelievably well and I’m very proud to have been on that European team that won the away Ryder Cup.
As he continues his time on the competitive side of things in India, McIlroy is hoping to expand their competitive schedule. THIS HAS BEEN HIS DREAM TO PLAY AT THE INTERNATIONAL LEVEL. Further out, he is scheduled to be in the draw in Abu Dhabi and Dubai later this year—and the Australian Open play obviously opens in December.
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