Rory McIlroy celebrates a holed putt on the 15th hole during Saturday morning foursomes at the 2023 Ryder Cup. | Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
Rory McIlroy and Tommy Fleetwood won another match, which led the Northern Irishman to achieve a career first at the Ryder Cup.
For the first time ever, Rory McIlroy is 3-0-0 at the Ryder Cup.
He and Tommy Fleetwood defeated Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, 2 & 1, in Saturday morning foursomes to earn Europe another point.
“It’s been an absolute pleasure to share the golf course with this man beside me over the last couple of days,” McIlroy said. “We played great there. We holed some good putts when we needed to, and we are delighted to get another point on the board for Europe.”
Saturday marks the second straight day this duo won an alternate shot match. The pair beat Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay 2 & 1 on Friday morning.
On Friday afternoon, Fleetwood rested while McIlroy played again. The Northern Irishman paired up with another Englishman, Matt Fitzpatrick, and dominated Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, 5 & 3.
Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images
Tommy Fleetwood and Rory McIlroy embrace after yet another European victory.
But when the ‘Fleetwood Mac’ pairing walked off the course on Saturday morning, their side held a commanding 8.5-to-2.5 lead over Team USA.
The 2023 Ryder Cup has turned into a total landslide, as Europe now leads 9.5-to-2.5 midway through the competition.
“Just happy to be along for the ride and play some good golf,” Fleetwood said. “We did very, very well. There were a couple of hiccups here and there, but we holed the putts when we needed to, and thankfully, Rory bailed me out on the last one.”
McIlroy hit some big putts down the stretch to secure another point for Team Europe.
At the challenging par-4 15th hole, McIlroy drained a 25-footer for birdie to go up by two with three holes to play.
Then, after Thomas and Spieth answered with a birdie, McIlroy holed a 13-foot putt for par on the par-3 17th to win the match.
But it was more than McIlroy’s putter that allowed Europe to win this match. The overall camaraderie between McIlroy and Fleetwood is second to none.
“[Fleetwood is] great because he makes you feel so at ease, and you know that you can play loose,” McIlroy said of his partner.
“You don’t feel like you need to be perfect because you know you’ve got a partner beside you who will bail you out if you need to and hit the right shots at the right times. In foursomes, someone that strikes the ball like this man, you feel really comfortable playing alongside none like that.”
It has been a great couple of days for the ‘Fleetwood Mac’ pairing.
Now the Northern Irishman will play with Fitzpatrick again in Saturday afternoon fourballs, as he looks to go 4-0-0.
Fleetwood, meanwhile, will take on Brian Harman and Max Homa alongside the young 22-year-old Dane, Nicholai Højgaard.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
