Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry fell just short of completing a near-perfect day for Europe at the Ryder Cup, although the visitors do still have a comfortable lead over the USA.
McIlroy highlighted his importance to Europe on day one at Bethpage Black, as his side finished with a 5.5-2.5 lead.
Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy combined expertly to win their morning foursomes match, defeating Collin Morikawa and Harris English 5&4.
But McIlroy couldn’t quite repeat such heroics in the afternoon fourballs, although he did secure a half point alongside Lowry.
The European pair tied with Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns, finishing a very strong day for Luke Donald’s side.
Rory McIlroy gives his opinion on the American crowd on day one of the Ryder Cup
It could, however, have been even better for The Masters champion and Team Europe, with McIlroy narrowly missing a putt to claim a full point in the final fourballs clash.
Sharing his immediate reaction to the match, he said: “Yeah, it was great. Absolute honor to partner with this man again and get out there. You know, we got a half a point.
“Obviously right now, disappointed I didn’t hole out for a full point. But it’s been a great day for Europe. We have come out of the gates really strong like we wanted to. Yeah, we should be really proud of ourselves.”
Giving his assessment, Lowry added: “Obviously Rory and I feel like we could have got a full point there, and you just have to sit back and look at the positives.
“Great day for Europe. Great start. Exactly what we wanted. We would have taken a hand off for this morning on the first tee. Got a lot of work done but a lot more to do over the next two days.”
McIlroy was also asked what it was like to play in the lively atmosphere at Bethpage, to which he replied: “What we sort of expected. It was rowdy and lively.
“They made it difficult for us. But I felt like Shane and I, we handled that really well and dug in. Made some good swings and good putts when we needed to.”
Rory McIlroy ‘disappointed’ as Shane Lowry makes prediction about the Ryder Cup crowd
The close friends weren’t finished there in their assessments of a very busy day in Long Island, New York.
McIlroy said of his emotions after Friday’s sessions: “It’s a great day for Europe. We would have absolutely taken this last night if you would have told us we would be 5.5-2.5 up.
“In the moment right now I am disappointed I didn’t hole that for a full point but the guys have done so well today and right now it’s about recovering and rest for tomorrow.”
And suggesting what the emotions could be like among Team Europe after day one, Lowry said: “Obviously we are going to be very happy but we had this the first day in Rome, but Luke is a great captain and he will not be getting too excited. We have a job to do.
“We have two tough days ahead of us, it was pretty rowdy out there this afternoon and it’s going to get like that over the next couple of days. We would have loved to have won that point but an amazing day for Europe and we’ll take it.”
As Lowry alluded to, there is a lot of golf still to be played, and importantly for the USA the crowd noise is likely to increase as the action goes on.
But Europe can hold their heads high after a very strong showing, having at times silenced the American fans with their superb efforts on the course.
They enjoyed similar success in Rome in 2023, taking a 4-0 lead after the morning session and extending that to 6.1-1.5 after the afternoon session.
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