Taking no chances of any mishap, the actual Ryder Cup trophy landed at Gleneagles last week. Europe's players, though, will be arriving in dribs and drabs. Rory McIlroy, arguably one of those in most need of a rest after his FedEx Cup exertions of recent weeks, will, as it transpires, be one of the first players to check in – on Sunday – for the match, although all of the players will be on site by Monday, which is the official first day of team-building and preparation.
Unsurprisingly, those players involved to the death in the US Tour’s playoffs – both European and American – are on some down time this week. All 12 of the USA team, in fact, won’t hit another competitive shot until the Ryder Cup, with the American team due to fly into Gleneagles as a unit next Monday.
However, four members of Paul McGinley’s Team Europe will be competing in this week’s Wales Open at Celtic Manor: Stephen Gallacher, Thomas Bjorn and Jamie Donaldson had always planned on competing at the Welsh event, but Lee Westwood – a “wild card” pick and out of tournament action since the Barclays championship a month ago – adhered to a request from McGinley to add the tournament to his schedule in order to get some tournament sharpness.
Fear of poor weather Ian Poulter, another wild card pick and another player to finish his FedEx Cup campaign earlier than planned, was also asked by McGinley to consider adding the Wales Open to his itinerary, but decided against it for fear of poor weather and that the tournament might "turn into a slog".
Of his decision to do his own thing, Poulter explained: “I know how to prepare for a Ryder Cup and get it right . . . My record in terms of turning up ready to play my best golf and go out there as often as the captain wants me to stacks up pretty well.”
McIlroy didn't have such a luxury. Having gone into the start of the FedEx Cup on top of the pile – after his wins in the British Open, US PGA and the Bridgestone Invitational – the 25-year-old Ulsterman was ultimately overtaken by a resetting of the points, a hot streak from Billy Horschel and unquestionable fatigue as the weeks of competition mounted.
Indeed, McIlroy has already made a decision to reduce his playing commitments next year, estimating he will cut back from a current level of 25 tournaments to between “20 and 23” so that he can be fresher for the events that matter most to him.
Less is more strategy McIlroy – who got to his home in Florida on Sunday night after the Tour Championship – has adopted the strategy that less is more in the coming days as he takes a rest ahead of meeting up with his European team-mates in Scotland. The world number one intends to keep the golf bag and his clubs out of arm's reach for a few days, before flying in to London on Sunday and on up to Gleneagles.
Although he missed out on the $10 million bonus jackpot pocketed by Horschel, it wasn’t all bad news for McIlroy on departing Atlanta: he collected a $2 million bonus for finishing third in the FedEx Cup standings and also collected $708,000 for sharing the runner-up spot in the Tour Championship with Jim Furyk.
McIlroy confessed to being “tired” after his exertions in the Tour Championship – his sixth tournament in a seven-week stretch – and of the need to regroup. “If I had to do it all over again, I probably would have taken a week off somewhere in this stretch of tournaments,” he admitted.
Putting the fatigue down as mental rather than physical, McIlroy added: “I think a week off will do a lot of good, it really will. Having these five days off is going to be big. I don’t think tiredness or fatigue will play a part in the Ryder Cup . . . It’s a great way to get back on the horse.”
McIlroy’s plan is to start doing some practice at Gleneagles on Monday next, before meeting up with the rest of the European team.
