‘Volatile’ McIlroy key to Ryder Cup bid – McGinley

2025 Ryder Cup

Dates: September 26 through September 28th, 2018 Bethpage Black, New York

Rory McIlroy, a man-of-the-money player, is “mentally engaged” for the Ryder Cup next week, according to Paul McGinley, who claims he is unsure whether Scottie Scheffler will replace him as world number one.

McIlroy, the second-ranked player, has won five tournaments this year, but his form dropped after his Masters triumph, which included missing the cut by 12 shots at the Canadian Open, before winning the Irish Open earlier this month.

The US PGA Championship and Open Championship are among Scheffler’s six titles in 2025, despite the fact that the American has not placed outside the top eight at any of his previous 15 competitions.

Rory has always been a volatile performer, his career has never been straight-line, there have been many downturns, and then he comes out swinging back,” said McGinley, Europe’s winning captain from 2014.

Rory is charismatic, dynamic, and a risk-taker, and he draws audiences in with his play in the Arnold Palmer manner.

It is no surprise Scheffler is leading the world rankings and will do so, said McGinley, who will serve as Luke Donald’s strategic advisor at Bethpage Black in New York.

Because he lacks the consistency Scottie does, I’m not sure if Rory will ever take the top spot in the world.

Rory has both inner and outer personalities. He receives a flourish and is unstoppable before returning, looking as though he might not make it past the cut.

After winning 161-112 in Rome in 2023, Europe are the defending champions, but they have suffered significant defeats in their previous two appearances in the US in 2016 and 2021.

Although Donald’s team are “the best prepared team I’ve ever come across,” McGinley claims a home victory will depend on the top players’ performances when the European team plays Bethpage Black earlier this week.

The Irishman, who helped Europe to a 1612-1112 victory over the USA at Gleneagles 11 years ago, said, “You can have all the vibe, all the preparation, but can the players perform in a hostile environment.”

“Can our top players contribute a sizable sum of money because the performance of top players earns you the Ryder Cup.”

If you exclude Viktor [Hovland], Jon [Rahm] and Rory from the final Ryder Cup, you only get four and a half points from the rest of the team before the line crosses.

McGinley says blocking out the boisterous New York crowd will be a must for Europe’s preparations, which also includes using virtual reality headsets to imitate the verbal abuse they are expecting from American fans.

Because they play in that hostile environment every second week, whether it be soccer or rugby players, they are used to it. Not all golfers.

When playing on the PGA Tour is friendly fire, you miss a putt and receive polite applause, but with a lot of shouting and some personal insults, can you reset yourself and drown out the noise and deliver?