G-Mac and McIlroy could pair up

European Tour

Graeme McDowell says he and Rory McIlroy have buried the hatchet and he is eager to team up with the world number one at Gleneagles on Friday.

Despite the ongoing legal battle between McDowell’s management company and McIlroy, which has put big strain on their friendship, the Northern Irish duo will not let it affect their relationship on the golf course.

They have been paired together at the last two Ryder Cups, Celtic Manor in 2010 and Medinah in 2012, and McDowell is hoping for the trend to continue.

“Myself and the other ten guys would all love to be paired with the world’s number one player,” quipped the 35-year-old on belfasttelegraph.co.uk.

“There would be a queue out of the door of players wanting to partner Rory and, absolutely, I would be among them.

“Yes, it has been a rough time over the last couple of years on the business side of things for both me and Rory because he has been involved in a lawsuit with my management company.

“And it certainly has put a stress on our relationship, but we have put those things behind us this year. If anything, our friendship has been strengthened by what we have experienced. We have talked about it and we would certainly love to renew our partnership again.”

Meanwhile, McIlroy hinted at who he could be paired up with when Paul McGinley’s team mounts their defence of the Ryder Cup.

“I’m very lucky in that I get along with a lot of the guys,” said the four time Major winner.

“Graeme McDowell is a big friend of mine. Poults [Ian Poulter] I’ve played with before. Sergio Garcia is another one, we’ve got a good chemistry so there’s a few guys that I can play with.

“You might see a few interesting pairings next week. I’m not going to give too much away here. We’ve good a good mix of guys; some rookies and some with lots of experience so I think the pairings we have will be very strong.”

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