Rory McIlroy’s Ryder Cup tactics as star’s attention to detail on another level
Rory McIlroy on Ryder Cup
When a tearful Rory McIlroy declared in Whistling Straits two years ago that he “couldn’t wait to get another shot” at the Ryder Cup, he wasn’t joking. The world No 2 put the disappointment of a record defeat for Europe at the hands of the USA in 2021 firmly behind him to help inspire a superb victory for Luke Donald’s team at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club over the weekend.
McIlroy won four points out of a possible five to post his best-ever performance in the unique team matchplay event, ensuring that the American’s 30-year wait for a win on European soil will be extended by another four years.
The Northern Irishman had paid a whistlestop trip to Mykonos the week before the Ryder Cup to attend a friend’s stag do for 48 hours, but long-standing commitments aside, his preparation for the Rome showdown was meticulous.
The level of detail to which McIlroy analyses his game is laid bare in a TikTok video shared on Barstool Sport’s Fore Play pod. The minute-long video shows a team of club fitters discussing McIlroy’s own requirements with the stunned host.
A shelf in a workshop has boxes of grips lined up on it for different PGA golfers including world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa and McIlory himself. McIlory’s box is labelled ‘1 + 1’.
“Rory’s one plus one on the tapes,” says one of the equipment shot workers. A host asks: “Does he use a different tape?”
The club fitter responds: “Yeah, so this tape is actually a little thinner than this tape.” Pointing at one of the tapes he adds: “If I put two of these on there, he’s going to tell me the grip’s too thick, immediately.”
Talking about both types of tape, the host then asks: “Would he know the difference between putting [on] one of these and one of these?” The club fitter replies: “Absolutely. Almost as if it’s a joke, like haha.”
When asked if top professional golfers have a different type of feel for their grips, he added: “Yeah, superhuman really. Let’s say we regripped all 14 of Rory’s clubs, right? We did all of the grips like this and we did one club where we used two of these tapes [pointing] instead of one of those and one of those.
“And we just gave it to him and literally as soon as he picks up that one club, your phone will ring. ‘I think there’s a mistake’.”
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McIlroy’s meticulous eye for detail is matched by the length of time he prepares for major tournaments. In the wake of Team Europe’s Ryder Cup success, he admitted that his preparation for the event had started a year ago.
“Maybe about a year ago I really started to think about it and think about how we could go about getting the Ryder Cup back – which thankfully we did,” he said.
“We want to try to enjoy this for the next couple of years and then get ready for New York and try to do something that is very seldom done in golf [win the Ryder Cup away from home].”
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