Rory McIlroy drops major hint over Ryder Cup team with group chat ‘in good spirits’

Rory McIlroy has revealed Europe’s Ryder Cup group chat is in full swing again ahead of their showdown at Bethpage Black.

Luke Donald’s Team Europe will head to America next month looking to win back-to-back Ryder Cups following their superb victory in Rome two years ago.

Getty

The teams for the upcoming event will be confirmed soon with the PGA Tour season coming to an end in Sunday’s TOUR Championship finale.

The British Masters also concludes on the DP World Tour this evening and Europe’s six automatic qualifiers will be confirmed following it.

Donald will then announce his six captain’s picks on September 1 before the 2025 Ryder Cup gets underway on September 26.

Team Europe looks set to be very similar to the team that starred in Rome.

McIlroy, Justin Rose, Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre and Tyrrell Hatton will be the automatic picks with Rasmus Hojgaard only needing a T29 finish at the Belfry today to join them.

Donald will then be fully expected to pick Shane Lowry, Sepp Straka, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland, Ludvig Aberg and Matt Fitzpatrick.

That would mean 11 of the players in the Rome will feature at Bethpage with only Rasmus Hojgaard replacing his twin brother Nicolai from two years ago.

And McIlroy has revealed the group chat from the old team is still buzzing away ahead of the confirmation of the 12-man selection.

Ahead of the final round of the TOUR Championship, he said: “It’s been good. 

“Luke is over in Europe right now at the Belfry and he’s with a few of the guys who have a chance to get those last couple of spots on the team. He’s focused more on that side of things right now. 

Getty

“There’s a lot of us here that he doesn’t really need to focus on or speak to right now – myself, Rosey, Bob, Tommy, Viktor, the guys that are pretty much on the team.

“The dialogue has been good. It’s nice that it looks like the team is going to be pretty much the same – we have this group chat from Rome which is still going two years on.

“It’s been good, everyone is in good spirits and excited for what is going to come at Bethpage.”

Asked about the benefits from having Donald as a repeat captain, McIlroy said: “The continuity. 

“Most of us know what his communication style is, most of us know what he’s looking for in us.

“Luke and I live on the same street in Florida, we talk about it a lot. I know what he wants from me and I try to do that the best I can.

Getty

“We all know what we’re going to get when we turn up at Bethpage which i think is reassuring for the players.”

Fleetwood has a chance to win the TOUR Championship today while Fitzpatrick is leading the British Masters heading into the final round.

Team Europe look to be in fine fettle and Donald’s selection would appear relatively straightforward if Hojgaard does automatically qualify.

Matt Wallace, Marco Penge, Aaron Rai and Harry Hall would be unlucky to miss out and Donald will no doubt contact each of them to explain his choices.

But with McIlroy keen for more ‘continuity’, the pre-Ryder Cup plans seem to be falling into place nicely for Donald and co.