No hiding place, which is generally the way elite sportsmen want it. For the European team, two of whom are Irish, history beckons here in New York. Rory McIlroy will likely have a target on his back, certainly from the crowds but also from Team USA. Shane Lowry, for his part, is keen to add an away Ryder Cup win to his story.
This is the Ryder Cup, the cauldron that defines team golf and bonds players together forever, giving memories that outweigh dreams.
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As children growing up, McIlroy and Lowry had their own dreams of sporting greatness. For McIlroy, it was to play for Manchester United at Old Trafford. For Lowry, it was playing for Offaly in an All-Ireland football final at Croke Park.
Their sporting paths took them to golf, to great acclaim. Now, they find themselves at Bethpage Black on Long Island, where one of golf’s toughest challenges – winning the Ryder Cup as the away team – has served to bring the same aim. “We obviously have one mission,” said Lowry. “We are only here for one thing and that’s to win.”
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No European team has won away since Medinah in 2012, while no USA team has won away since the Belfry in 1993. Those harsh statistics have weighed heavily on the minds of players and teams over the years.
“Since 2012, you look at the results of the Ryder Cup, the home team has won every time,” said McIlroy. “But they also have won convincingly. It’s been pretty one-sided either way.
“So whatever team breaks that duck, I think it will honestly go down as one of the best teams in Ryder Cup history. We are here and we are playing for history. We’re playing for the players that came before us and the people that basically laid the foundations for what the European Ryder Cup team are.
“But we are also playing for the guys that are going to come behind us as well; the young boys dreaming of becoming European Ryder Cup players. We want to try to leave a legacy for them as well. We have a wonderful opportunity this week, but we also understand it’s going to be very difficult.”
McIlroy’s words demonstrate how far his own thoughts on the Ryder Cup have changed. From his ill-advised use of the word “exhibition” ahead of his debut in the 2010 match at Celtic Manor, to discovering in the Welsh Valleys the true nature of the biennial match.
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He recalled that cathartic experience. In particular, how he was the young player in a room full of experienced players during a conference call with Seve Ballesteros ahead of the 2010 match.
“I watched Ryder Cups growing up,” said McIlroy. “I cried when America won at Brookline. Like, it’s not as if I didn’t feel something when I watched Ryder Cups. But I got into that team room at Celtic Manor and I just saw how much it meant to everyone. I was like, ‘maybe I got this wrong’.”
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McIlroy and Justin Rose were part of the Miracle at Medinah in 2012. That makes them the only two members of the team here at Bethpage to have won away. McIlroy acknowledges “it would be one of the greatest accomplishments of my career, for sure”, if Europe win this weekend’s renewal of rivalries.
In the European team room, McIlroy’s presence is huge, both in body and spirit. As Lowry put it: “There’s probably him (McIlroy) and Rahmbo (Jon Rahm) that a lot of people would stand there and look towards for leadership. I think they both do a great job at that.
“I feel like a lot of guys look up to him and Rahmbo and they really lead from the front. They did in Rome; I think they will do it this week as well.”
He added of McIlroy: “Just to have one of the greatest golfers of your generation in your team room, as well, is pretty cool. I think everyone feels very lucky to have him on our team.”
Lowry, too, has a big part to play. His presence is also significant. Few players live and breathe the Ryder Cup as much as he does. His thoughts briefly flit ahead to Adare Manor in 2027 and his desire to be on the team. But he quickly returns to the task at hand here at Bethpage.
Few players – with Tyrrell Hatton and Robert MacIntyre arguably in the same bracket – wear their emotions on their sleeves quite as much as Lowry. He knows it. It is part of who he is, even if there is a balance to be struck in this team environment that differs from the familiarity of tournament play.
“I think it is important not to give the crowd too much to cling on to, but it’s also important to be yourself, not try to be anyone different,” said Lowry. “What got me here is being myself and I think I have to be the best version of myself this week.
“If my emotions do come out, it will be a good thing in certain ways. I have thought about it and I feel like I’m ready. I feel like I’m ready to deal with anything that’s given to me over the next few days. I’m looking forward to it. This is what I practice for. This is what I live for. I’ve wanted this since we finished on the 18th green in Rome that evening.”
One mission, then, and it’s not an impossible one. It will play out on a course softened by rain, where the rough has been shaven to encourage a birdie-fest.
