Fueled by American fire, Rory McIlroy takes on all comers at Ryder Cup

CHASKA, Minn. — It’s a familiar song the American fans were singing after Rory McIlroy missed a birdie putt on the par-5 11th hole at Hazeltine.

“Sweet Caroline! Bah! Bah! Bah!”

Like a movie villain, McIlroy almost maniacally finished the lyric: “Good times never felt so good!”

So good. So good. So good.

The lyric has been lobbed at him so many times after he broke up with former fiancee and tennis player Caroline Wozniacki, and McIlroy was having none of it, screaming back near the top of his lungs.

On Saturday afternoon, McIlroy had just about enough of the rowdy U.S. hecklers at the Ryder Cup. It was building to this point, really. Danny Willett’s brother aimed sharp words at American fans in an online column, peeling back the layers on a stereotypical minority you see at most any PGA Tour event. The hooligans responded in kind, proving Willett’s point, in raining down unoriginal, loud what-they-thought-were jokes on Willett.

After a match-clinching eagle putt against Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar on Friday, McIlroy bowed twice to the crowd in a pre-planned celebration and said, “You’re welcome for the show.”

All of a sudden, the Willetts were off the hook. McIlroy was the bad guy – brash, unapologetic and impossible to stop.

And so it came to a peak on the seventh green Saturday afternoon. After McIlroy made a birdie putt from the back edge of the green to halve the hole against Johnson and first-time partner Brooks Koepka, a fan, annoyed perhaps by the Ulsterman’s demonstrative celebrations, did the unacceptable, yelling a vulgar phrase right at McIlroy.

The four-time major winner wasted no time in pointing out the fan to security and having him removed from the property. McIlroy won that match 10 and 8.

From there, McIlroy played several holes almost possessed by rage, and it paid off for him. On the ninth hole, McIlroy’s approach landed 15 inches from the hole, so close that Johnson didn’t need to think but a half-second before conceding the birdie as he spied the ball while walking to the green.

With each birdie, McIlroy found a fan in the grandstands to stare laser beams through as he pumped his arms back and forth. He was trying to take down America one dagger at a time.

Up four heading to the 11th, the European duo was suddenly put on their heals as Johnson carded birdie, then followed with another on 12.

All of a sudden, the Americans were down just two and charging. McIlroy’s facial expression changed from that of a world-beating man on a mission to a concerned onlooker who remembered he was playing America’s Hanz and Franz.

From there, Pieters took over. He made a 16-footer for birdie on the long par-3 13th, and he did it again on the 14th.

Johnson and Koepka mounted a late rally, winning 15 and 16, where McIlroy’s approach found the water, which brought the partisan crowd to its feet.

The joy was short lived, as Pieters closed it out with another birdie on 17. It turned out to be the only point for Europe in the afternoon session. Were it not for their lead-off firewall, the Europeans would be facing a five-point hole heading into Sunday, an even bigger deficit than what the Euros overcame in 2012 at Medinah.

Afterward, McIlroy, head throbbing from the emotional and physical intensity of the match, was asked how he’d describe the hostile gallery he and Pieters dealt with all afternoon. Spirited? Tough? Over the line? Ugly?

“Probably a combination of all of those,” McIlroy said. “I’d say most of all tough. It’s a tough environment for us to come and play in. We expect that. It’s same for the U.S. guys when they come to play in Europe. You have to keep your concentration out there. It’s been a long day and sometimes emotions run high.”

It all changes for McIlroy and the Europeans on Sunday. They’ll play alone in singles matches against an American side that has all 12 players responsible for at least one point. The rookie-rich Europeans have five players who haven’t scored yet. In fact, McIlroy has accounted for four of the 6½ points the Europeans have scored.

European captain Darren Clarke will have to send out six rookies, which, aside from Pieters, have played a combined six matches. Five of his charges, including McIlroy, have played in every session. Now, with no one in particular to exclaim to after every devastating putt, can McIlroy muster the inner confidence to finish off a four-point performance?

“The more they shouted, the better we played,” he said. “I hope they shout at us all day tomorrow.”