Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald, captain of Team Europe, celebrate with the Ryder Cup after their victory in Rome. | Photo by Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images
The Europeans celebrated gregariously after winning the Ryder Cup, with Rory McIlroy leading the way.
“USA is terrified; Europe is on fire!”
“USA is terrified; Europe is on fire!
“USA is terrified; Europe is on fire!”
Those were the chants the European Ryder Cup team sang and danced to following their resounding victory over the Americans at Marco Simone.
Rory McIlroy led the way with the tune, with Irishman Shane Lowry and the rest of the team chiming in, too.
McIlroy led the competition by winning four points for Europe.
He posted a 4-1-0 record, with the only loss being to Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark in Saturday afternoon fourballs.
That fourball match produced the competition’s most contentious moment: Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, waved his hat in celebration after Cantlay holed a 43-foot putt. In doing so, LaCava walked too close to where McIlroy was putting, which upset the Northern Irishman.
Then, after the round, McIlroy got heated in the parking lot and had to be held back by Lowry due to his frustrations.
But that has all been forgotten now, as McIlroy and LaCava have exchanged messages and moved on.
Yet, McIlroy used that spat to his advantage, dominating Sam Burns the next day in singles to clinch the 13th point for Europe.
McIlroy defeated Burns, 3 & 1.
Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images
Team Europe poses with the Ryder Cup.
About an hour later, Tommy Fleetwood drove the 16th green while his playing competitor, Rickie Fowler, drove it in the water. That sealed the deal for Europe, thus shutting the door on Team USA.
Fleetwood and McIlroy played two matches together, going 2-0-0. The ‘Fleetwood Mac’ pairing proved to be quite successful.
So did the afterparty, as Team Europe danced and sang into the night after winning their seventh straight Ryder Cup on home soil.
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.
