Rory McIlroy recalls emotional moment with Seve Ballesteros when he realized he was 'wrong' about Ryder Cup

Team Europe Ryder Cup members practice on the driving range in front of hundreds of fans at Bethpage Black on Long Island, New York.

FARMINGDALE, N.Y. – A year before making his Ryder Cup debut, Rory McIlroy called the tournament "an exhibition" that he would not be "running around fist-pumping for."

Well, he's done much more than fist-pump. In 2016, every putt was like he had scored a touchdown, and five years later, tears flowed amid a brutal loss at Whistling Straits.

McIlroy reiterated to reporters on Thursday that he will always be "proudest of my individual achievements in the game," but in that famous emotional plea in 2021, he said he had never gotten emotional about personal achievements (that is, until this year's Masters).

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Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland acknowledges the spectators on the 18th during day four of the 2025 BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Golf Club in Virginia Water, Surrey, England, on Sunday, Sept. 14, 2025. (Adam Davy/PA via AP)

It's been quite a 180-degree turn for McIlroy, and he revisited when he admitted to himself he was "wrong."

And it did not take too long for him to realize.

"I think it's more the behind-the-scenes stuff. The team room, the team talks. I think for me, going in as a complete rookie – look, I watched Ryder Cups growing up. I cried whenever America won at Brookline. Like it's not as if I didn't feel something when I watched Ryder Cups," McIlroy said.

"I got into that team room at Celtic Manor and I just saw how much it meant to everyone. I sort of started, I was like, maybe I got this wrong… I remember Seve [Ballesteros] was sick, and we had him on one of those conference call things back in the day. He's speaking to