Darren Clarke delights in Rory McIlroy’s return to form

Rory McIlroy’s timing in rediscovering a hot putter could not be better for Europe’s Ryder Cup cause later this month but captain Darren Clarke also wants to see more from his fellow Irishman at Hazeltine in terms of leadership and inspiration.

The US will tee off in Minnesota on September 30 as odds-on favourites with the bookmakers to reclaim the Ryder Cup for the first time since 2008 but Open Championship success for Henrik Stenson, an Olympic gold medal for Justin Rose and now last Monday’s Deutsche Bank Championship victory for McIlroy in the FedEx Cup play-off series has given the Europeans a real lift.

“We all know, everybody knows, Rory is the best player in the world. When he holes putts, he wins,” Clarke said yesterday in Dublin as he hosted an Aer Lingus Putting Masterclass at St Anne’s GC. “He started holing a few in Boston and obviously came out on top. I hope he keeps on doing it.