Rory McIlroy has revealed that NBA all-time great Michael Jordan was among those who got in touch with him after his heartbreak at the 2024 U.S. Open - with the pair having struck up a friendship after the Ryder Cup in 2023.
The Northern Irish superstar was left reeling after failing to seal the deal at Pinehurst after leading proceedings with five holes to go - as the PGA Tour standout eventually finished runner-up after a stunning collapse. The 35-year-old missed two short putts from his final three holes to hand victory to rival Bryson DeChambeau .
Having now gone a decade without a major championship triumph, his failure to close out the win in North Carolina left McIlroy despondent. Amid his torment, the four-time major winner was not short on support from friends, with sporting greats Rafael Nadal and Jordan among the first to offer their sympathies.
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Recalling his conversations with the legendary pair, he told the Guardian : "Two of the most unbelievable competitors that have ever been in sport. MJ was maybe the first person to text me after I missed the putt on the 18th but both of them got in touch very, very quickly. They just told me to keep going. MJ reminded me of how many game-winning shots he missed. Really nice."
It appears that he took their advice on board too as he revealed his positive state of mind as he looks to put his anguish behind him. Keeping a level head, he continued: "You have to be an eternal optimist. Say you play 25 events a year and win three of those. You are one of the best players in history. We lose way more than we win."
This not the first time that McIlroy has shared a bonding experience with Jordan too, with the pair having hung out in Florida alongside Shane Lowry and Luke Donald following Team Europe's win in the Ryder Cup last year. Remembering the scene which played out after the victory, Lowry gave his recollections to the The Irish Independent .
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"Rory and Luke [Donald] started texting [Jordan], and the next thing [I know], we’re sitting there drinking with Michael Jordan, just the four of us," he recalled. "And I’m like, ‘Whaat!’. He’s very much a pro-USA guy. It was the first Ryder Cup he hadn’t been to in 25 years, so we gave him a good slagging.”
The former Chicago Bulls icon also offered up some words of wisdom over one of the perennial issues surrounding the Ryder Cup over pay as he provided some insight from his own career. McIlroy said: "We were talking about the issue of players being paid at the Ryder Cup, and he told a story about the US basketball team.
"He told a story about the U.S. basketball team, the Dream Team at the Olympics in ’92. ‘Do you not think I could have got paid to play in the Olympics?' he said: 'These people are missing the point of what it means'. He saw the long-term value of winning an Olympics, and said he ended up doing way better than if he had taken money there and then."
As their unlikely union came to a close, the group weighed up getting a photograph of them together in the aftermath of their Ryder Cup heroics. However, Lowry revealed that they decided against it, adding: "He doesn’t need that. But ... myself, Rory, Luke and MJ sitting around talking about the Ryder Cup. Not really how I envisioned the celebrations."
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