McIlroy will deliver for Europe, says Bjorn

EUROPE captain Thomas Bjorn has faith in his five rookies and a misfiring Rory McIlroy as he plots to regain the Ryder Cup in Paris.

McIlroy ended a 16-month winless streak at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, but has passed up six other chances for victories this season when starting the last round in the final group.

The latest of those came in the Tour Championship on Sunday when he outdrove playing partner Tiger Woods by 25 yards on the opening hole, but could only make a par to the eventual winner’s birdie on his way to a clos- ing 74 and a tie for seventh.

However, Bjorn has seen at first hand the Ulsterman’s transformation from a player who once labelled the Ryder Cup “an exhibition” into a team leader capable of inspiring rookies such as Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood, Tyrrell Hatton, Alex Noren and Thorbjorn Olesen.

“The good thing about Rory is that he’s maybe not won the last few weeks or months, but he’s still there or thereabouts every time he plays, and that shows what quality he has and what he brings on the golf course,” Bjorn said. “I always say he’s the one guy I’ll pay money to watch play because he’s always quality.

“The steps he’s taken off the golf course are brilliant. He brings so much in that team room. He’s great to have conversations with. He’s got great ideas. He understands everybody in the team room very well. He really gets under the skin on a lot of those youngsters and they take to him.

“You’ve got people that are great players and then you have people that have everything, and he’s one of those. If you’re a young player you look at him where this is the guy I want to learn from and this is the guy I want to be, the way he plays golf. There’s not a golfer in the world that wouldn’t want to be like that.

“He’s obviously a big part of this team, but he’s also very understanding that it is a team and it’s about all 12, and that’s what we go with.”

Europe had six rookies in the team in 2016 and although Thomas Pieters won a record four points and Rafa Cabrera Bello claimed two and a half from three matches, the other four — Danny Willett, Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan and Matt Fitzpatrick — combined for just one point in a 17-11 defeat.

“I’ve got a good feeling about these five,” Bjorn added. “I feel like they are very strong.”

Bjorn also revealed that the European team will wear yellow ribbons this week in tribute to Spain’s European Amateur champion Celia Barquin Arozamena, who was found dead on a golf course in Iowa last week. Up for Cup: Europe captain Thomas Bjorn (third left) alongside Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm and Ian Poulter in Paris yesterday