'It Fuelled Me' Rory McIlroy Fights Back Tears After Ryder Cup Win

An emotional Rory McIlroy had to fight back tears as he was interviewed live on TV after his singles win on Sunday in Rome.

McIlroy had just completed a 3&1 victory over Sam Burns to leave Europe within touching distance of winning the Ryder Cup. It followed a controversial spat with Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava the day before. 

McIlroy's singles triumph ensured he was Europe's leading points scorer with four at Marco Simone this week in a stunning reversal of fortunes from Europe's record 19-9 defeat in Whistling Straits in 2021 which left the Northern Ireland professional in tears. 

Watch: Emotional Rory McIlroy after Ryder Cup win

But this time the seven-time Europe Ryder Cup member was emotional for all the right reasons after his heroics put the hosts on the verge of victory.

World No.2 McIlroy , 34, who picked up just one point at the 2021 Ryder Cup, said: "It means an awful lot. I was so disappointed after Whistling Straits. We all were. We wanted to come here to Rome this year and redeem ourselves a bit. 

"To come here and get four points for the team means a lot to me. We've got some fresh blood on the team that I think has worked really well. I just knew that I needed to put in a better performance for my team-mates this week and thankfully I was able to do that."

McIlroy and the European team were furious on Saturday though when LaCava took off his cap and waved it in the air after Cantlay made a vital putt on the 18th in the crucial last four-ball match to set-up a comeback win.

LaCava's actions were considered poor sportsmanship as the Northern Irish golfer still had a putt to tie the match. Tensions then spilled over onto the car park with McIlroy heard shouting: ‘this can’t happen, this can’t happen – it’s a f*****g disgrace' at the caddie. As a result, a security guard was forced to step in and calm things down before Shane Lowry guided McIlroy to a waiting car. 

McIlroy admitted: "I let it fuel me. I didn't let it take away from what's been a fantastic week. I used that little incident last night to my advantage. In a way it gave us a little bit of a fire in our bellies to try and get the job done today. I just wanted to come out and win another point for Europe."