Rory's Glory (23 page)

So to the final day, and although there were reminders and warnings about Medinah and Brookline where 10-6 deficits had been overturned before, Europe were the overwhelming favourites.

Eyebrows were raised with veteran Captain Tom Watson's formation. To see rookies Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed lead out America ahead of more all round form and experienced players was baffling.

Surely Tom knew that the two young lads were bound to face the might of a Rose, Poulter, McDowell or McIlroy. Personally speaking, the night before I tried to pit my wits with his selection and I wrote down Mahan and Walker first and second – both won points.

The tone was set early on when Rory McIlroy won Europe's first point as he battered poor Ricky Folwer into submission with a stunning birdie barrage. When top man Jordan Spieth, 3-up, was pegged back by McDowell and lost 2 and 1, it was curtains.

Winning 13 ½ - 9 ½ it all came down to Wales Jamie Donaldson who was 4-up on Keegan Bradley. He spurned one opportunity to win the Ryder Cup when missing a 12-foot putt but then won it with a stunning approach that sat two feet from the pin.

At that moment, the Cup was won. McGinley rushed out on the course and almost hit Tom Watson! He then walked alongside Tom and as they made their way to the green with the European contingent in tow, the Captain and Bradley conceded the win.

A little while later, Rory grabbed Donaldson with both of his hands behind his head and shaking him wildly screamed into his eyes in sheer delight: ‘What an iron! You boyo-oooooooo.'

If Medinah was the making of Ian Poulter then unbeaten Justin Rose, who was also an unsung hero there, was the golfer of the tournament at Gleneagles. His ball striking, blitzing of pins and sinking of putts was one of the finest Ryder Cup performances.

From an American point of view, Hunter Mahan is quality. He was 4-up on Justin Rose and but for an uncharacteristic error on the 18
^th
, would have burst Justin's bubble rather than shake hands on a half. His first major is nigh.

Despite the fallout and bickering – and we can only hope Tom Watson will be afforded the respect he deserves – America and Tom had a huge part to play. That was also reflected upon at every opportunity by a class human being in Paul McGinley.

Several times McGinley said ‘Let's not forget America' and when he was asked for his highlight of the whole event, a measure of his stature was in his reply: ‘Walking down the 18
^th
and sharing experiences with Tom Watson – as well as Europe winning.'

Rory referred to McGinley afterwards in terms of being ‘thoughtful' in almost every facet of Ryder Cup details – from statistics to organization to the discussions and jottings in the team room – as his huge strengths.

Rory also said that McGinley had put everything into his two years. Going a step further, I'd venture to say he was the greatest Captain in Ryder Cup history – not because of this attention to detail – but due to his ‘thoughtfulness'.

He gave every single person his time before, during and after the event. Newspaper interviews, broadcast interviews, private functions, chat shows, public appearances – he wore it all with a beaming smile full of verve. A beautiful man who deserved to win.

Rory, who was seen spraying large bottles of bubbly ‘Grand Prix-style' over his teammates, now held a 100% record of three wins from his first three Cup appearances and more personal points accumulated. Looking back on the week he reflected:

He [McGinley] has just been the most wonderful Captain and I cannot speak highly enough of him. From the first day we got here the speeches he gave, the videos he showed, the people he got to talk to us and the imagery in the team room – it all tied in together.

When he said after his fourth major win, ‘This is the greatest summer of my life', he was not to know then that Ryder Cup success was just around the corner. It was a fitting end and glorious top up to his summer of '14 – and in that top up he revealed something else:

I couldn't have asked for the summer to end any better. I didn't know that it had not been done since 1977 but, you know, if it's not me in a couple years time again, then I hope it's one of these guys [his team-mates] that gets two Majors and gets a Ryder Cup.

*********************************

It is now a race to be ‘Sixth Man Slam' – will it be Rory, who requires the Masters, or Lefty, who needs the US open, who will follow the greats into immortality by winning the Grand Slam?

And for Rory, after the BBC Sports Personality of The Year award, there will be many more years of chasing Majors and competing in Ryder Cups.

An entire sporting world awaits the ultimate glory for Rory. It could be a short road, or it may be a long road, but we his passengers will venture along for that thrilling ride.