Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry both played crucial roles as Team Europe earned a memorable away Ryder Cup win against the USA.
Lowry holed the putt to retain the Ryder Cup for the visitors, who secured a 15-13 victory at Bethpage Black in New York.
He finished his week with two points from his three matches, with Lowry’s close friend McIlroy posting 3.5 points after playing all five matches.
McIlroy continued his stunning season at the Ryder Cup, with his year involving three PGA Tour wins, including The Masters.
He battled it out with Lowry throughout the year, but the pair were able to celebrate a joint success in Long Island on Sunday.
Rory McIlroy has message for Shane Lowry after his putt helps Europe win the Ryder Cup
The duo played together twice at Bethpage Black, tying their Friday four-ball match before winning their Saturday match in the same format.
And McIlroy was quick to praise Lowry in the immediate aftermath of the tournament itself, saying: “Look I won The Masters, and I tried to get myself as prepared as possible for the other three majors of the year, but my focus was on this, my focus was on this.
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“I wanted to win an away Ryder Cup so badly. We hadn’t done it in 13 years. And I think there’s a lot of us that experienced how bad Whistling Straits felt in 2021, and to come here and completely flip the script and to play the way we did over the first two days.
“Look America came out fighting today and they played great today, but we had enough in the tank to get the job done.
“I’m just so proud of the guys, especially at the back end of the order, Shane in particular. What he did, birdieing three of the last four holes to get a half point, huge, absolutely huge. I’m so proud of Shane. I’m so grateful to have him in my life.”
Rory McIlroy’s bold call at the 2023 Ryder Cup comes true at Bethpage Black
It’s a week that McIlroy and Lowry will never forget, with the same able to be said of the entire European Ryder Cup team.
But future success will likely be on their minds, with the competition heading to Ireland’s Adare Manor in 2027.
Now, however, the pair will still be in full celebration mode after winning the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black, which McIlroy predicted not too long ago.
Speaking after they won in Rome in 2023, the Northern Irishman commented: “I’ve said this for the last probably six or seven years to anyone that will listen.
“I think one of the biggest accomplishments in golf right now is winning an away Ryder Cup, and that’s what we’re going to do at Bethpage.”
Lowry and the rest of the European team were quick to applaud in excitement, but perhaps none of them truly believed their talisman at the time.
It was a very bold call, but they’ve done exactly what he said they would, claiming a fifth away Ryder Cup success.
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