Strafan, Ireland – Rory McIlroy is ready to follow the tennis star’s lead at the Ryder Cup held this month after watching Novak Djokovic handle a raucous crowd during his victory at the US Open.
The hostile and partisan crowd is set to greet Beth Page Black’s McIlroy and European teams for the September 26-28 match as the Americans are trying to regain the Cup two years after losing in Rome.
Djokovic had to deal with a similar environment during the US Open Quarter Finals match against home favourite Taylor Fritz.
McIlroy liked what he saw from Djokovic, who gave European golfers a motivating speech in the team room before his 2023 Ryder Cup victory.
“He was great to handle it,” McIlroy said Wednesday at the Irish Open. “He had to deal with that for the rest of his life whether he was playing against the Americans in New York or against Roger (Federer) or Rafa (Nadal).
“He came and talked a bit about something like that last time in Rome. So maybe we’ll take a leaf from his book and channel that energy the right way. But again, all we can do is control our reactions and our feelings about it.
The Rome experience should help with Beth Page for the European team – confirmed on Monday – showing one change in two years, with Rasmus Hodgegard automatically becoming the only rookie on the 12-man roster.
McIlroy used Robert Macintrye, a Rome rookie and now a regular contender for PGA Tour events.
“They have a very strong team,” McIlroy said of the Americans. “They’ll have a pretty loud crowd on their side, and on golf courses where many of them know pretty well from previous tournaments.
“So don’t make any mistakes. We know we’re against it, we know that we do high-quality work in our hands, but we love the team that Luke has gathered.”
