WATCH: Rory McIlroy Holes Outrageous Shot From Brutal Ryder Cup Rough
The Team Europe player produced a moment of brilliance during a practice session at Marco Simone


It’s safe to say Rory McIlroy is getting firmly into the spirit of the Ryder Cup. He participated in a practice session as Europe's preparations for the match against the US at Marco Simone continued.
There was very little riding on the outcome of the round, with the main objectives of gaining familiarity with the course and building sharpness, but at one point, the 34-year-old was seen celebrating in a manner that wouldn’t have looked out of place had he just holed the winning putt to take the trophy!
In fact, McIlroy's exuberance came from holing of an incredible flop shot from the course’s penal rough.
The chances of him landing anywhere close to the hole didn’t look that great as he prepared for his shot, with his ball in thick rough and a bunker standing between him and the eighth green. The camerawork didn’t catch the moment the ball dropped into the hole, but the celebrations said everything, from the 34-year-old as well as everyone around him.
Update: @McIlroyRory was celebrating appropriately 😆 pic.twitter.com/kQ09jGK6SH https://t.co/c6J579FyNKSeptember 26, 2023
Well, almost everyone. McIlroy was playing alongside Ryder Cup teammates Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood. It seems Lowry didn’t quite appreciate the four-time Major winner's moment of genius, though, with McIlroy’s ball later ending up in the water, courtesy of the Irishman.
Afterwards, Lowry was asked about the incident and remarked: “Yeah, it looked like me and Tommy were going to win the hole, and then he chipped in from nowhere, so that was disappointing. No, we were just having a bit of fun out there. We were having a game and he won the hole, so I threw his ball away. That was it.”
Of course, the vastly experienced McIlroy will be one of the players much of Team Europe’s hopes will rest with over the three days of action. It’s safe to assume that if he recreates that kind of form in the heat of battle, all will be very quickly forgiven.
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Mike has over 25 years of experience in journalism, including writing on a range of sports throughout that time, such as golf, football and cricket. Now a freelance staff writer for Golf Monthly, he is dedicated to covering the game's most newsworthy stories.
He has written hundreds of articles on the game, from features offering insights into how members of the public can play some of the world's most revered courses, to breaking news stories affecting everything from the PGA Tour and LIV Golf to developmental Tours and the amateur game.
Mike grew up in East Yorkshire and began his career in journalism in 1997. He then moved to London in 2003 as his career flourished, and nowadays resides in New Brunswick, Canada, where he and his wife raise their young family less than a mile from his local course.
Kevin Cook’s acclaimed 2007 biography, Tommy’s Honour, about golf’s founding father and son, remains one of his all-time favourite sports books.
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