While all of the European players will be preparing for a hostile reception at the Ryder Cup, Rory McIlroy will be aware that his spot as the talisman of Luke Donald’s side will make him the biggest target at Bethpage.
The margins look set to be so small at the Ryder Cup. So it will be a huge boost for the American side if the likes of Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood fail to fire in New York.
And there are likely to be a number of fans who do their best to throw the European stars off their games over the five sessions.
Luke Donald will be desperate to ensure that his players remain focused. But it is no surprise that the visitors are trying to get used to hearing comments which cross the line, with the help of virtual reality.
It seems McIlroy knows better than most how difficult it can be to keep your cool on that stage.
When Rory McIlroy lost his cool with the crowd during the 2016 Ryder Cup
McIlroy is preparing to make his fourth appearance in an away Ryder Cup this year. One of his greatest performances came in 2016 at Hazeltine, with the Northern Irishman winning three matches across the week.
His display was perhaps all the more impressive because of the reception he received from the crowd in Minnesota.
And speaking on Indo Sport, Padraig Harrington – who was a vice-captain nine years ago – joked that there was one moment where he feared he was going to have to provide McIlroy with backup.
“You’re just bringing it to mind, I was walking with Rory in Hazeltine and somebody said something pretty abusive to him, a couple of times I think. So they said it at the crosswalk so he went into the ropes to go after them. And I’m standing behind him and all I’m thinking is if he goes in there, I have to go in there and the two of us are going to be throwing handbags. It was one of those ones where your friend is doing the posturing and you’re behind him thinking oh no, just somehow back out of this quietly. We don’t want to see any of that,” he said.
“I know what you mean, players can play well. I think that’s like having an angry emotion. We’ve seen people get angry on the golf course, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. The key here is if I was down in a match, I’d love somebody to shout something bad at me and make me angry, because I’m losing the match, I want things to change. If I’m up in a match, I don’t want to change anything in my match. I want to keep the emotions the exact same. That’s the same with getting angry on the golf course, it can work but it’s not within your control so I wouldn’t be recommending it, I wouldn’t be relying on it.”
How Rory McIlroy performed at the 2016 Ryder Cup
While the 2016 Ryder Cup was a disappointment for Europe, it was something of a personal triumph for McIlroy.
He was on the losing side alongside Andy Sullivan in the opening session, but went on to win three matches from three with Thomas Pieters. The pair did not get taken to the 18th hole once.
Although he lost his singles clash on Sunday, McIlroy took part in one of the greatest matches the Ryder Cup has seen up against Patrick Reed.
It felt uncharacteristic when McIlroy reacted to holing a long putt on the eighth hole by screaming at the crowds. Reed, of course, would follow him in for birdie with a remarkable putt of his own.
But Harrington’s comments help explain why McIlroy produced such an emotional reaction.
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