McIlroy provides bulletin board material for USA | Golf News

Rory McIlroy’s daring prediction that Team Europe will conquer the Ryder Cup this yr has been performed on repeat to Team USA, according to captain Keegan Bradley.

The Northern Irish star will look to lead his squad to glory on American turf for the first time in 13 years when competitors begins on September 26.

Team Europe’s roster was just lately finalized with Bob MacIntyre, Tommy Fleetwood, Justin Rose, Tyrrell Hatton, Rasmus Hojgaard, Shane Lowry, Jon Rahm, Sepp Straka, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg, and Matt Fitzpatrick all making the cut.

After the last Ryder Cup showdown, the 36-year-old McIlroy confidently declared that he and his teammates would declare victory at Bethpage Black, instantly difficult Team USA to reply.

Bradley disclosed that when the clip will get shown again, McIlroy’s phrases serve as excellent motivation for his American lineup, that includes Scottie Scheffler, JJ Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley, Harris English, Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa, Ben Griffin, Cameron Young, Patrick Cantlay and Sam Burns.

Before discussing his psychological warfare method, Bradley was introduced with McIlroy’s October 2023 assertion, in which he proclaimed: “I’ve said this for probably 6-7 years to anyone that will listen.

“I believe one of the most important accomplishments in golf proper now is successful an away Ryder Cup, and that’s what we’re going to do at Bethpage.”

Following a review of the footage, Bradley couldn’t help but laugh to himself.

When asked for his thoughts, the Vermont golfer, who turned down the chance to become the first playing Ryder Cup captain since Arnold Palmer in 1963, maintained that McIlroy’s remarks have already spoken for him.

Talking to PGA Tour Radio, Bradley revealed: “The boys have seen that clip a few instances. They might have seen it once or twice.”

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The action at Bethpage Black begins on Friday, September 26, and wraps up on September 28.

After a stellar 2025 season that featured triumph at the Travelers Championship and top-10 results at the Sony Open, Arnold Palmer Invitational, PGA Championship, Memorial Tournament, and the recent Tour Championship, Bradley ranked 11th in the American standings.

However, he opted not to participate in the transatlantic battle between Europe and the USA.

While admitting he crushed his own aspirations by excluding himself from the roster, he explained: “I grew up wanting to play Ryder Cups. I needed to battle alongside these guys.

“It broke my heart not to play, it really did. But I was chosen to be the captain of this team. And my ultimate goal is to be the best captain I can be. This is how I think I can do that.

“I used to be always going to do what was best for this group, even if that meant enjoying. I’d have completed it. But these guys performed extremely coming down the stretch. And they made my choice simpler.”

Europe will enter the event at Bethpage as the defending champions, having beforehand bested the USA with a rating of 16.5-11.5. McIlroy was on fire in Rome, bagging 4 factors from his 5 matches.

His group will certainly lean on him to recapture the successful system that propelled him to victory at the Masters in April, notably contemplating the spectacular performances of gamers like Scheffler this yr.