Rory McIlroy fought back tears of joy instead of disappointment after delivering a career-best performance to help Europe regain the Ryder Cup.
McIlroy’s singles victory over Sam Burns saw him win four matches in the biennial competition for the first time, while Luke Donald’s side handed the United States an immediate seventh defeat.
Viktor Hovland had put the first point on the board with the win over Collin Morikawa before Jon Rahm birdied the 18th and took a half point from the opening match with world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
Patrick Cantlay then held off a struggling Justin Rose to close the gap, but McIlroy defeated World Match Play champion Sam Burns 3&1 and Tyrrell Hatton defeated Open champion Brian Harman 3&2 to move Europe to within half a point of victory.
They had to wait as wins for Brooks Koepka, Max Homa and could start.
McIlroy felt he had let his teammates down at Whistling Straits two years ago after suffering three heavy defeats before beating Schauffele in the singles, before breaking down in tears during a television interview and admitting he couldn’t waiting for a chance at redemption. in Rome.
The four-time major winner won his first three matches with Marco Simone but lost the final fourball on Saturday night and was involved in an angry argument with Cantlay’s caddy Joe LaCava over his revelry, which spilled over into the car park.
“I needed that to fuel me today and not let it distract from what has been a great week,” McIlroy said. “I felt like I used it to my advantage and came out with a different level of focus and determination and in a way it gave the whole team a little fire in our bellies.”
McIlroy fought back tears before adding: “I just wanted to win another point for Europe. Since Whistling Straits I’ve been so disappointed with my performance there, so to come here and get four points for the team means a lot to me. It’s a great recovery after Whistling Straits. The team we have is incredible. It is a young team that I think will be around for a long time.”
McIlroy added on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Going down the 18th yesterday was probably the angriest I’ve ever been in my career. I told the American boys, I thought what was happening was shameful and I made that clear. But I had to calm myself down because I could have let that lead me down the wrong path, and I didn’t.”
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Rahm admitted he was very aware of the significance of his match against Scheffler, who had suffered a 9&7 thrashing alongside Koepka in the Saturday celebrations.
“I told myself I wasn’t going to look, but it’s hard not to see the scoreboards,” said Rahm, who two-putted from 100 feet for birdie on the 18th after Scheffler hit an awkward chip over the green . I’m sitting there looking at my putt (on 18) and the scoreboards are right in my way. So it’s hard not to catch yourself lingering.
“But I think I did very well in the end. When I saw those scores, I refocused on the task and ended up playing well. Too bad it wasn’t good enough to win, but I’ll take half.”