Grand slam champion Rory McIlroy believes Team Europe “have a wonderful opportunity” at this month’s Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black after captain Luke Donald completed his squad earlier in the week.
The World No. 2, who will be making his eighth consecutive appearance for Team Europe in the biennial team contest, heads what is Europe’s least changed team in Ryder Cup history with the only difference from the Europe’s 2023 triumph being Rasmus Højgaard replacing his twin brother Nicolai Højgaard after he confirmed his place as an automatic qualifier.
Team Europe will look to make history by retaining the Ryder Cup on U.S. soil for the first time since the ‘Miracle at Medinah’ in 2012, a squad McIlroy was part of, and the Northern Irishman believes the squad have a “wonderful opportunity”.
“I’ve said this repeatedly but I think winning an away Ryder Cup is up there with one of the biggest achievements in the game, especially nowadays,” McIlroy said speaking to Sky Sports ahead of this week’s Amgen Irish Open.
“There’s a reason every Ryder Cup for the last 10 years has gone to the home team.
“They have a big advantage from the set-up of the course to how partisan the crowd is.
“But I think the Europeans have a wonderful opportunity this year to achieve something very, very special – but it’s going to be very difficult. Make no mistake, we know we’re up against it. We know we’ve got a tall task on our hands.”
McIlroy added that the Americans “have a pretty strong team” and is expecting the crowd to show them boisterous support at Bethpage Black.
“They’re going to have a pretty raucous crowd on their side and on a golf course that a lot of them know pretty well from previous tournaments.
“But I love the team that Luke has assembled. It’s a very strong 12 players and I think it’s the right 12 players.
But McIlroy feels the current European squad is stronger than the one that competed in Rome two years ago, citing more experience as a key factor.
“You could certainly make that case [that the players are stronger than in Rome]. You could argue that pretty much every player is more accomplished than two years ago.
“Someone like Bob MacIntyre has won a couple times on the PGA TOUR and had a chance to win the U.S. Open.”
“I think when we went to Rome, you had some guys that were purely foursome players, some guys were purely fourball players. I think now we have more flexibility within that 12.”
The 45th edition of the Ryder Cup will take place between 26-28 September, 2025.