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Rory McIlroy struggled to hold back the tears following his crucial singles victory at the Ryder Cup.
Hours after being involved in a furious bust-up with US caddie Joe LaCava following his fourball defeat to Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark, the Northern Irishman powered to a 3 & 1 victory over Sam Burns. The win put Europe 13-7 up, just 1.5 more points from victory at the Marco Simone Club near Rome.
The falling out with Cantlay’s bagman stemmed from LaCava’s over-the-top celebrations on the 18th green last night after his player had sunk a monster putt to grab the final point of day two. McIlroy was later spotted fuming at members of the US party, including LaCava, before being ushered into a waiting car by team-mate Shane Lowry.
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Speaking after the singles match, McIlroy told Sky Sports he had used the incident as motivation. He said: “I needed that to fuel me today and not let it take away from what's been a great week, and I felt like I used it to my advantage.
“I came out here with a different level of focus, a different level of determination – I think, in a way, it gave the whole team a bit of fire in our bellies and I just wanted to win another point for Europe.”
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Reflecting on Europe’s huge 19-9 defeat to the US two years ago, when McIlroy endured a nightmare, he added: “Ever since Whistling Straits, I was so disappointed in my performance there, so to come here to Rome and win four points, it means a lot to me so hopefully we can get it done.
“The team we have is incredible. It's a young team, it will be around for a long time, the support we had was absolutely incredible and it's been a great week for me personally, but we need to follow the boys here, get them in the house, and get it over and done with.”
Asked in another interview if he had had a clear-the-air chat with LaCava since their run-in, McIlroy robustly declared he had not spoken to the caddie.
McIlroy was annoyed that LaCava initially refused to move from his eyeline as he waved his cap over his head in celebration of Cantlay’s birdie on the last. McIlroy still had a putt to halve the hole, but missed as the US trimmed the deficit to 10.5 to 5.5 heading into the singles.
- Rory McIlroy
- Ryder Cup
- Golf
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