Ryder Cup: Rory McIlroy revels in European victory at Gleneagles and looks ahead to 2016
Last Updated: 29/09/14 1:05pm
Ryder Cup hero Rory McIlroy is targeting more success after helping Europe to a third straight victory over the US at Gleneagles.
McIlroy capped a productive tournament by defeating Rickie Fowler 5&4 on Sunday as Paul McGinley's hosts cruised to a comfortable win.
But the world No 1 is already looking ahead to the challenge of retaining the trophy at Hazeltine in 2016.
"I hope it continues. It's fantastic to be a part of," said the 25-year-old. "The American side are very strong individuals but haven't quite come together the past few tournaments.
"They're still very strong, and we know they're going to give us a good challenge when we go to Hazeltine. It's fantastic to win a third Ryder Cup in a row and to be part of this European period of dominance. To be part of a great European side is a great feeling.
"I can't speak highly enough of Paul McGinley. He's been a fantastic captain and inspired all the players. He's made us really believe in ourselves and go out and do the job he said we were capable of.
Experience
"Obviously he's been involved in a lot of Ryder Cups and he's taken the best parts of a lot of other captains. He's brought everything together and even had former captains like Sam Torrance and Jose Maria Olazabal as vice-captains. They could talk about past experiences in team meetings and that really helped."
While the European team continues to revel in glory, the mood in the American camp appeared to deteriorate further with Phil Mickelson going public with his views on Tom Watson's captaincy and the veteran returning fire by claiming Mickelson 'wanted to lead the team.'
McIlroy said of the situation: "We heard what Phil Mickelson said in the press conference. We had a great time with the American team last night. They seemed in good spirits. Tom wasn't there, so he doesn't really hang around too much.
"It's unfortunate. We don't really know the dynamic that the American team had. All we know is that we had a good captain and we were able to do the things that won us the Ryder Cup. I'm sure the Americans will go back and think about what didn't go right.
"I'm always going to be more proud of individual achievements but I don't enjoy wins as much as I do in the Ryder Cup.
"To celebrate as a team and to win with that group of guys is great. It's the icing on the cake along with two majors. Someone said it's the first time since 1977 that anyone's won two majors and been part of a winning Ryder Cup team... and that was Tom Watson."
