Ryder Cup: ‘Volatile’ Rory McIlroy key to Europe’s bid for rare away win, says Paul McGinley

Europe are the defending champions, having won 16½-11½ in Rome in 2023, but suffered heavy defeats in their past two visits to the United States in 2016 and 2021.

The European team played Bethpage Black earlier this week, and while McGinley insists Donald’s side are “the best prepared team I’ve ever come across”, he feels an away victory will hinge on the performances of the top players.

“You can have all the vibe, all the preparation, but can the players perform in a hostile environment – that is the question,” added the Irishman, who led Europe to a 16½-11½ win over the USA at Gleneagles 11 years ago.

“Can our top players bring a massive haul of points, because you win the Ryder Cup with top players’ performance.

“If you take Viktor [Hovland], Jon [Rahm] and Rory out the last Ryder Cup you are looking at maybe 10 points, which would only leave four and a half points from the rest of the team to get over the line.”

Europe’s preparations have also included using virtual reality headsets to emulate the verbal abuse they are expecting from American fans, and McGinley says blocking out the boisterous New York crowd will be key.

“You take soccer or rugby players, they are used to that hostile environment because they play in it every second week. Golfers are not.

“It’s not the same as playing on the PGA Tour when it’s friendly fire: you miss a putt and there is polite applause, but with a lot of shouting and maybe some personal insults thrown at you can you reset yourself and drown out that noise and deliver?

“We’ve had some guest speakers from other sports speak to the players about playing in a hostile environment. We’re doing all we can to prepare the players mentally.”