Rory McIlroy claims that he does not get “emotional” about golf in the wake of Europe’s Ryder Cup defeat.
McIlroy will be competing at this week’s CJ Cup in Las Vegas and speaking prior to that event, the former world number one suggests that his break down during an interview following his singles victory against American Xander Schauffele was out of character.
“I don’t necessarily get emotional about golf, so I guess in that way it surprised me. But it’s a very emotionally charged week,” said the four-time major winner.
“I think it was a good thing for me. I think maybe I realised a couple of things about myself that I hadn’t known, or maybe I had known but I was trying to keep down and not let them out.
“I was surprised at how emotional I got, but after a little bit of reflection over the last couple of weeks, I sort of realised why I did get that way.”
Eight of McIlroy’s Team Europe compatriots will be competing in Las Vegas this week, the preferred destination for the event after it was confirmed that usual host South Korea were not in a position to stage the tournament due to the pandemic.
However, the 32-year-old believes that he is still the man to beat irrespective of who his opponents are.
“I think when I play my best, I’m the best player in the world,” added McIlroy.
“I haven’t played like that for a while, but I don’t feel like I have to go that far back to whenever the pandemic hit, I was number one in the world.
“It’s not the position I want to be in, but at the same time there’s so many other guys that are trying to do the same thing as I’m doing, and the competition gets tougher each and every year.”
