McIlroy ready to play the leading role

Rory McIlroy will stride into the Ryder Cup arena a changed man from his last appearance for Europe two years ago.

Older, clearly, and one would hope more punctual than he proved on that Sunday in Chicago, but also wiser, comfortable with his status as the world No 1 after a season of four individual tournament victories, including the British Open and PGA Championships.

That comfort, perhaps lacking the last time he donned the mantle of the world’s best, means he is ready to bear the burden of leadership and embrace the situation that finds him with a target on his back and the Americans taking aim.

The 25-year-old knew his stellar season would make him a marked man as much as that is possible in golf, the Americans believing his scalp represents much more than the solitary point it delivers to the scoreboard.

On the evening he lifted the Wanamaker Trophy at Valhalla, following perhaps his greatest of the four Major victories in his career to date, McIlroy said: “It’s my third Ryder Cup. I’m not one of the most experienced guys but I’m going to have to be some sort of a leader. I’m going to have to be a talisman and going to have to drive us forward. I’m going to have to accept that responsibility.”

Six weeks on, and McIlroy is surrounded by more experienced European team-mates but remaining true to his initial instinct.

“Do I see myself as one of the leaders? We’ve got a couple of obvious ones in there, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Thomas Bjorn,” McIlroy said yesterday before practice at Gleneagles. “But in the team room, I’ll be strong, opinionated and make sure my voice is heard.”

The Irishman had spent Wednesday facing the media, reacting to US captain Tom Watson’s (inset right) statement that he considered McIlroy to be one of his team’s top targets, a view reinforced by Phil Mickelson’s ill-judged comments later in the day.

Yet the man with the bullseye on his back suggested he and fellow target Ian Poulter were merely components of the greater European team.

“I know Watson has been talking about targeting us two and whatever, but at the same time, it’s only one-sixth of the team. There’s 10 other world-class players that he has to worry about, as well, and they are just as capable of putting points on the board for Europe. They can try and target us all they want, but there’s guys alongside us that can do just as good a job.

“They win a match against me, they get a point, no more, no less.”

Darren Clarke certainly believes the world No. 1 will handle the pressure of being in the Americans’ sights.

“I think he’ll thrive,” said Clarke. “This time he’s number one, as opposed to the first time, he’s taken it much more in his stride. He’s developed much more as a person and as a golfer. I’ve no doubt he will deliver.”

Paul McGinley and his Europeans can do the same and deliver victory here on Sunday. Just like McIlroy and his ranking, they have sat comfortably with their favourites’ tag, their home advantage and the knowledge that the Americans are scrambling to engineer a first victory since 2008.

Tom Watson has talked about his team seeking redemption for the US being on the wrong side of that Miracle at Medinah two years ago, a point he reinforced last night by talking of his hurt at the reverse on home soil. The seven players on his team who were actually involved in that loss have all expressed rather different views. A disconnect between players and captain? Maybe, maybe not, but it does reinforce the perception that McGinley’s team room is as solid as a rock, the 12 players behind their skipper to a fault and relishing the opportunity to make him the third successful European captain in succession.

McGinley is steeped in European Ryder Cup lore and has spoken often of the template for success, started back in the 1980s by predecessor Tony Jacklin and maintained, updated and improved seemingly ever since.

The Irishman has been a part of that continuity, first as a player since 2002, an assistant captain in 2010 and 2012 and now here at Gleneagles, where his reverence for the contest is shared by his team and underscored by his picks, Lee Westwood, Ian Poulter and Stephen Gallacher. It is a diverse trio, the Ryder Cup veteran, hero and rookie respectively but all can help deliver success, not least Gallacher on home soil, at his favourite course. The support he has already received here has been spine-tingling, the Scot receiving the loudest cheer of the night in Glasgow when introduced to an arena-sized crowd during a gala concert at the Hydro Centre.

Gleneagles will be rocking to a similar beat this weekend, and McGinley appears set to call the tunes.