After the United States’ blowout victory in the Ryder Cup, many thought that the 2016 event was the beginning of the U.S. return to dominance in the biennial competition. Rory Mcllroy is clearly not one of those people.
While McIlroy admitted that the U.S. team will be strong and that its core of young players will be a force for the next decade, he told reporters Tuesday at the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship that course setup will play a significant role.
“If you look at Hazeltine and how they set the course up – big, wide fairways, no rough, pins in the middle of greens – it wasn’t set up for the way the Europeans like to play,” McIlroy said, referring to the Americans’ 17-11 victory in 2016. “I think Paris will be a completely different kettle of fish, so different.”
The home country gets the final say on set up, and after many of the Europeans knocked the way Hazeltine was set up, including Justin Rose who said it had “pro-am feel” it is safe to assume the R&A will have a more difficult setup this time around.
Rory went on to say that despite last year’s one-sided affair, the Ryder Cup has a history of being an event that goes down to the wire.
“The Americans have obviously been buoyant about their chances, but it’s never as easy as that. The Ryder Cup is always close. It always comes down to a few key moments, and it will be no different in Paris. I think we’ll have a great team and it definitely won’t be as easy as they think it’s going to be.”
The 2018 edition of the Ryder Cup will be held at Le Golf National in France.
