Rory McIlroy: I used anger to my advantage on way to Europe’s Ryder Cup triumph

Rory McIlroy admitted he was fuelled by anger after propelling Europe towards Ryder Cup victory in Rome on Sunday.

A fired-up McIlroy finished as his team’s top points-scorer as Europe beat the United States 16.5-11.5 at Marco Simone after a convincing 3&1 singles win over Sam Burns.

The Northern Irishman had been embroiled in angry scenes as tempers boiled over the previous evening, getting involved in heated confrontations with two American caddies.

First McIlroy had argued with Patrick Cantlay’s bagman Joe LaCava on the 18th green as the Americans raucously celebrated a point in the fourballs.

The problems then spilled over into the car park as the players left the course, with McIlroy furiously gesticulating in the direction of Justin Thomas’ caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay.

“I was hot coming out of that yesterday,” said McIlroy, who felt LaCava had got in his way as he still had a putt of his own to hit. “Walking off the 18th was probably the angriest I’ve ever been in my career.

“I said it to the US guys, I thought it was disgraceful what went on and I made that clear.

“I felt like I used it to my advantage and came out with a different level of focus and determination and in a way it gave the whole team a bit of fire in our bellies.”

Cantlay played in the singles match prior to McIlroy and there was no acknowledgement between the pair or with LaCava when they crossed paths prior to teeing off.

McIlroy has not yet spoken to LaCava about the matter but expects all to be smoothed out in time.

He said: “We haven’t seen each other face to face but we’ve text and everything will be fine.

“It’s a point of contention and it still hurts, but time is a great healer and we’ll all move on.”

As for the car park incident, McIlroy