When Rory McIlroy started his pro golf journey, there was little doubt about where Ryder Cup stood in his pecking order. Pretty low. He was more into majors, cementing his legacy, and paving the road for a smooth Hall of Fame entry. A decade and a half later, the Ryder Cup is a big part of his legacy. Majors not so much. 

Among the current players, only Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson had endured a longer wait than McIlroy. Woods waited 11 years between his 14th and 15th. Whereas, Mickelson had to wait 12 years before winning his first major. He went on to win six. 

Currently, their combined major drought—8 years—is lesser than McIlroy’s. But these numbers also don’t offer an accurate picture. The trouble is McIlroy reached the zenith before turning 25. He set the bar so high for himself that the decade-long major drought stings even more. 

In those ten years of major absence, McIlroy has bagged multiple top-tens, three last year, and four the year before that. Perhaps it’s a mental block. Or, perhaps it’s just sheer bad luck. Regardless, McIlroy’s legacy, when viewed ten years from now, will have a ten-year blank between his major victories. 

So, even if the four-time major winner completes a career grand slam, and even if he doesn’t but continues to win other majors, it’ll still be a case of ‘what-if’. What if McIlroy picked at least three or four majors in those ten years? 

After all, only so many of us have won four majors before spending a quarter of a century on this earth. After all, only so many players offer hope of witnessing a double-digit major-winning career.

Interestingly, in these very ten years, McIlroy’s stature in the Ryder Cup has only grown bigger. Don’t get me wrong, he was an integral part of the European squad since 2012. But in the last few years, McIlroy seems to have thrown it all in. 

Rory McIlroy has quietly built an enviable Ryder Cup legacy

The tears at Whistling Straits told what his words couldn’t. That Rory McIlroy’s passion for the biennial showdown, which he once said was not his priority, has grown leaps and bounds.

The four-time major winner has accepted himself as the leader. The person who will energize the team and inspire the next generation. In short, to take the mantle from Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter, and Sergio Garcia. Whistling Straits also cleared up any doubt that McIlroy might have had. The entire team wanted to view him as a leader. 

McIlroy’s words from 2021: “It’s been a tough week and the more and more I play in this event, the more I realize that it’s the best event in golf bar none.” He wasn’t exaggerating, even though the emotion was high. Rory McIlroy rarely left any scope for doubt of what this biennial event means to him.

Perhaps that empowerment and responsibility propelled him to stand for his team at Marco Simone. Seen from that perspective, it’s not hard to understand why emotions spilled from the greens to the parking lot. Or why the 35-year-old felt the need to storm the US locker room.

He didn’t, of course. 

Sense and Shane Lowry got hold of him. Nevertheless, the usual road from here is to captaincy. Guess what?  McIlroy has thought about that too.  The Ulsterman informed about Keegan Bradley’s playing-captaincy plans, said it’s difficult. Because he was offered the same for Adare Manor (2027 venue) and rejected. “It has been mentioned and I have just said: ‘No way.’ If you want to be the best captain you can be, you can’t play and if you want to be the best player, you can’t captain.”

McIlroy, definitely, knows the value of the Ryder Cup in his career. Besides the majors, and the PGA Tour wins, the Ulsterman will leave behind a trail that many would like to walk on. The Northern Irishman has already netted 18 points from his seven Ryder Cup appearances, surpassing Poulter’s 16 points. Up ahead are giants like Jose Maria Olazabal, Seve Ballesteros, and Colin Montgomerie. And, of course, Sergio Garcia still holds that crown (28.5 points).

Not that he cares less about majors. But, then, golf is an individual sport. The scrutiny after a personal loss is incomparable with the criticism following a team debacle. The 2021 Ryder Cup disaster wasn’t solely on McIlroy’s shoulder. Neither was the 2023 Ryder Cup loss on Patrick Cantlay’s shoulder (or hat) alone. 

But, the 2024 US Open loss was on McIlroy as an individual. Harry Diamond received his share of censure as well. But the ‘choker’ tag follows the athlete alone. Unless McIlroy can shrug off the mental block, bring that killer instinct back, or do whatever is necessary to shut down the major drought chatter, there is a possibility that McIlroy will be remembered more for his Ryder Cup heroics than his major performance.