Rory McIlroy reduced to a spectator as Europe struggle in Ryder Cup

Rory McIlroy had to watch from the sidelines for the first time in his Ryder Cup career as Europe attempted to overturn a daunting four-point deficit at Whistling Straits.
McIlroy had played 26 straight matches since making his debut at Celtic Manor in 2010, but lost twice on the opening day – alongside Ian Poulter and Shane Lowry – without even reaching the 16th hole.
It was therefore no real surprise to see the four-time major winner left out of the Saturday foursomes, with Jon Rahm and Sergio Garcia sent out first again following their victory on Friday.
Rory McIlroy is sitting a #RyderCup session Saturday for the first time in his storied career: https://t.co/uOdYEb7sf2 pic.twitter.com/f926Y749vG
— Golf Central (@GolfCentral) September 25, 2021
The Spanish pair were drawn to face Daniel Berger and Brooks Koepka, with Paul Casey and Tyrrell Hatton up against Dustin Johnson and Collin Morikawa and rookies Viktor Hovland and Bernd Wiesberger taking on Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth in match three.
Lee Westwood and Matt Fitzpatrick, who lost their foursomes match on Friday, were up against Patrick Cantlay and Xander Schauffele in match four.
Speaking about McIlroy after submitting his pairings but before announcing them publicly, Harrington said: “You saw him out there after a tough day, he was out following those matches and supporting his team.
“He is very much a leader amongst his peers and I couldn’t have asked more from him during the year, I couldn’t have asked more from him on Friday.
💬 “Our players played well. I couldn’t have asked any more of them.”
💬 “We’re looking for a big afternoon, and we’ll move on from there.”#TeamEurope captain Pádraig Harrington remains in confident mood…
📺 Sky Sports Ryder Cup📱 Live blog 👉 https://t.co/abAZP0Jfs6 pic.twitter.com/OLUKoU0t3f
— Sky Sports Ryder Cup (@SkySportsGolf) September 24, 2021
“Yeah, the golf didn’t go as well as he would have liked, but I’m not second-guessing him for a second in terms of his leadership and what he does for my team.”
Harrington admitted his side were set for a tough weekend and would likely need to slowly chip away at the USA’s four-point advantage.
“You can’t just turn around and try to eat into a lead straight away in one session,” Harrington said. “It would be lovely if it happened, but you can’t think like that. You’ve got to do it slowly, one step at a time.
“We’ve got 20 points to play for and we’ve got to prepare ourselves for hopefully a long battle all the way through. If we are going to get this done, it’s going to be a very tight one.”

US captain Steve Stricker insisted he was taking nothing for granted, saying: “It’s a great start. We are very happy with the start. But my message to the guys is Saturday is a new day.
“Let’s just go out and try to win that first session again in the morning and pretend Friday never happened. Let’s keep our foot down and continue to play the golf that we know we can play.
“We’ve had some things that came up and bit us in the rear in other Ryder Cups, so these guys know that and they are focused on coming out strong again.”
Latest
-
News
Steve Stricker makes Padraig Harrington sweat as Irishman wins US Senior Open
The pair were rival captains in last year’s Ryder Cup in Wisconsin.
-
News
Golfers warned of further sanctions if they continue to play in LIV breakaway
The DP World Tour has issued fines of £100,000 and tournament bans to its members who played in the inaugural LIV Golf event earlier this month
-
European Tour
DP World Tour hits members who played inaugural LIV series with £100,000 fines
They have also been banned from several forthcoming tournaments including the Scottish Open.
-
News
Rory McIlroy not impressed as Brooks Koepka becomes latest big name to join LIV
The world number two labelled the players who have joined the new series as “duplicitous” for the way they have handled their breakaway.
-
The Open
R&A confirms LIV Golf Series players will be allowed to compete at Open
The 150th Open Championship will get underway at St Andrews in three weeks’ time.
-
US Open
Matt Fitzpatrick turns to other major winners for advice on dealing with fame
Fitzpatrick won the US Open on Sunday.
-
News
Brooks Koepka set to join Saudi-backed LIV Golf Invitational Series
Koepka’s brother Chase played in the opening event at Centurion Club earlier this month.
-
US Open
Gary Player urges Matt Fitzpatrick to avoid ‘poison’ of modern-day coaching
Player tells US Open champion Fitzpatrick to learn from mistakes of recent major winners, saying: “The teaching today is the worst it has ever been.”
-
US Open
Matt Fitzpatrick’s caddie Billy Foster ready for ‘long party’ after US Open win
Foster won his first major after a 40-year career which includes spells working for the likes of Seve Ballesteros, Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke.
-
US Open
Matt Fitzpatrick backed to become a dominant force after winning first major
The Englishman claimed his first major title at Brookline.