GOLF/SINGLES MATCHES/Rory McIlroy:AFTER SUCH a roller-coaster week laced full of high drama, Rory McIlroy left the Usk Valley no longer viewing the Ryder Cup an exhibition match. The cut and thrust of this unique matchplay contest absorbed the young rookie and with his swashbuckling style he became an instant hit with the Celtic Manor faithful.
As if the young rookie didn’t have enough to deal with on his debut, further pressure was applied early in the week when certain sections of the media attempted to create a grudge match between the 21-year-old and Tiger Woods. It never materialised and captain Colin Montgomerie sensibly left him to soak it up alongside best buddy, G-Mac, Graeme McDowell, for the fourball/foursomes matches.
They played together three times and delivered 1½ points before McIlroy rounded it off to two from four with his halved singles match against Stewart Cink. He played the tall American three times in the week.
The conclusion of yesterday’s singles match could have gone either way as McIlroy’s bold decision to go for the par five 18th over water in two almost proved costly as he found the deep greenside bunker.
Cink laid up and made a regulation par. When “Wee-Mac” failed to get out of the bunker the situation looked dire. To his credit he kept his head, splashed out to five feet and made the clutch five-footer for the half point.
On reflection he and caddie JP Fitzgerald could be criticised for the poor course management on the final hole for there really was no need to play the hero. Hindsight is a wonderful thing and attacking golf is what McIlroy does best. He just needs to learn when to step on the gas and when to cruise.
“It was nice to get the opportunity to halve. I’ve had three great matches with Stewart this week, a half is probably what we both deserved,” said McIlroy, now with a whole new take on the Ryder Cup. “I wouldn’t have said this a year ago, but this is fantastic, the best event in golf, by far.”
There were magical scenes on the first tee as “Wee-Mac” was greeted with roars and chants more akin to a soccer match with the tall, bald Cink several strides behind. The real fun began when the packed amphitheatre found their voice and several cheerleaders delivered their lines for the masses to follow.
“Rory, Rory McIlroy, Rory, Rory McIlroy . . .” rang out and let the crowds clear their throats. The humour kicked in with “You’ve got Big Mac, we’ve got Wee-Mac”, much to the delight of both players, who looked like the “Little and Large” show with Cink towering over his Ulster opponent.
The crowds weren’t finished and the chants fired up again: “He’s (McIlroy) got more hair than you.”
In fairness to Cink after a couple of renditions he simply doffed his cap to confirm what we already knew. The encore: “Rory, Rory, show us your hair.” And so on it went, until starter Ivor Robson brought some order to the occasion and officially announced the American for what was to be a closely-fought contest throughout.
McIlroy wasted little time getting back out onto the course to support his team and to witness G-Mac become yet another Irishman to etch his name in the history books by bringing it home for Europe.
“I never actually got to hole it, I didn’t need it, thank God,” said McDowell of his crowning moment on the17th, to join Paul McGinley, Philip Walton and Eamonn Darcy as the latest Irishman to perform the final act of a winning campaign.
“I just can’t describe the feeling of this golf tournament, there’s nothing quite like it. I said at the start of the week, there was nobody else I wanted to play with more,” added McIlroy in reference to the McDowell. “He was the guy I wanted to partner. To play with one of your best friends in the Ryder Cup is very, very special.”
McIlroy cut a more reluctant figure on the by now infamous balcony team celebrations, but there was no danger of McDowell stepping out front and lapping it up. He’s a showman, but more than that he has the granite-like resolve to see the big occasions through. On this Welsh adventure he took McIlroy under his wing and together they wrote another chapter into what has already become a sensational journey.
