Rory McIlroy reveals Ryder Cup street chats with Luke Donald are spreading word for Euro success in New York
McIlroy and captain Luke Donald live next to each other in Florida and the planning has long been underway for Bethpage
Revved-up Rory McIlroy admits Ryder Cup chat is never far off the agenda due to the fact he shares a Florida street wth skipper Luke Donald.
The European talisman will be at the head of the away team’s bid for glory over the United States at Bethpage next month.
McIlroy is desperate to repeat the Medinah triumph from 2012 where Donald was a team-mate in the miracle win for Jose Maria-Olazabal’s side on foreign soil. Now the duo are combined are combined as hero and captain and the Masters champion says the plotting takes place on the pavements as well as the golf courses.
McIlroy explained: “Luke and I live on the same street in Florida. We see each other all the time, so we talk about it a lot. I know what he wants from me, and I try to do that as best as I can. But I think just that continuity piece and we all know what we’re going to get whenever we turn up at Bethpage, which I think is reassuring for a lot of the players.”
McIlroy’s continuity mention stems from the fact Donald was skipper for the victory in Rome two years ago which means Europe is defending in the Big Apple against a side which will be led by World No.1 Scottie Scheffler.
The bonuses are crucial as he said: “Yeah, it’s been good. Luke is over in Europe right now and he’s at the Belfry and he’s with a few of the guys there that maybe have a chance to get those last couple of spots on the team. I’d say he’s focused more on that side of things right now. There’s a lot of us here that he doesn’t really need to focus on or speak to right now, myself, Rosey, Bob, Tommy, Viktor, the guys that are pretty much on the team.
“Just continuity. Most of us know what his communication style is. Most of us know what he’s looking for in us. But the dialogue has been good. It’s nice that it looks like the team is going to be pretty much the same. We have this group chat from Rome that’s still going two years on.
“Everyone is in good spirits and obviously everyone is excited for what’s to come in a few weeks at Bethpage. I played on Ryder Cup teams with all those guys that were sort of the core of that European team for a decade or more and that’s who I started with, and now we’ve sort of created our own core group. It’s the next generation and that’s a cool thing. Everyone on this team has my number. But some of the previous teams I’ve changed my number and not given it out to everyone.”
McIlroy is building towards Bethpage and aiming for a big show at the Tour Championship as he builds on returning from a break last week at the BMW Championship. He said: “I’m definitely hitting the ball better than I did last week. Some positives. I’m a few shots further behind than I’d like going into the weekend, but pleased with the improvements that I’ve made from last week to this week.”