This year, Rory McIlroy will be among the eldest and most experienced players in Rome from the European side. And though he is more than happy to once again participate in the prestigious Ryder Cup, McIlroy is also missing his old team.

The bonds that he has developed on the grounds of the Ryder Cup are a cherished memory of his. Since his debut in 2010, whenever the Irishman has played in the Ryder Cup, Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter, and Graeme McDowell have always been part of the team. But now that he moves on with a new and younger team, McIlroy reflects on creating new bonds.

Amid finding new friendships, Rory McIlroy talks about a “weird” thing about the 2023 Ryder Cup team

The Irishman has played many of his other matches with the trio. However, McIlroy suffered a setback when Garcia and the other two went on to join LIV Golf. It was like a stab in the back. Now he is faced with a new team to lead.

Speaking to Golf Digest, the 4-time major winner described how the big changes in his teammates are making him feel. He said, “I was speaking to Erica [his wife] the other night, and it’s going to be weird for me not to have those guys in the team room because this is my seventh Ryder Cup and they’ve always been there.”

He added that when it came to the prestigious international event, he had a lot more to give; hence, it was “time to form new bonds.” “Hopefully, I still have a few Ryder Cups left in me, so I’ll try to form some bonds with the younger guys, like Nicolai and Ludwig.” The Irishman also added that some of his other teammates, like Viktor Hovland and Jon Rahm, would be around for a long time, so a close bond could only help!

This year, besides Rahm and Hovland, McIlriy will be playing with many new faces. These include Robert MacIntyre, Tyrrell Hatton, and Matt Fitzpatrick, as well as the wildcard picks, Shane Lowry, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Ludvig Aberg, Nicolai Højgaard, and Sepp Straka.

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While of course the LIV golfers like Garcia and Poulter, whom he was so used to playing with every alternate year, won’t be on the field, things are far from sour between them. After all, just earlier this year, the Irishman mended fences with the Spaniard!

McIlroy and Garcia reconciled at the 2023 US Open thanks to their wives

McIlroy, who once shared a great friendship with Garcia and even served as a groomsman at his wedding in 2017, was so hurt by the Spanish golfer’s betrayal that he even admitted to deleting his number.

But things cooled down after a while, and the two made amends at this year’s US Open, where they both competed in June. It was McIlroy who made the first move toward reconciliation by sending a message to Garcia’s wife, Angela, after both players wives greeted each other at the event.

The Irishman also claimed that it was a good thing that they were talking again. He stated that, though they are not really where their friendship used to be, it was a great first step.

McIlroy will undoubtedly miss Garcia on the course in Rome. But he now has a new team to guide this year to victory. Tune in to find out if he will be able to!

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