Rory McIlroy shows true colours as Tommy Fleetwood comment speaks volumes

Rory McIlroy hailed Tommy Fleetwood as among the world's finest golfers following their commanding 5 & 4 triumph over Collin Morikawa and Harris English. The duo carded five under par without dropping a shot and surrendered just one hole to their American rivals during Friday morning's third Ryder Cup foursomes match.

Fleetwood and McIlroy claimed victory from both foursomes sessions they contested in Rome and delivered another strong opening for Europe at Bethpage Black two years later. They never truly allowed their opponents a look-in as they seized the opening hole before capturing the 4th, 5th, 6th and 8th.

English and Morikawa momentarily cut the deficit to four by claiming the ninth hole, but the European pair struck back by taking the 12th. McIlroy heaped praise on Fleetwood in the aftermath.

READ MORE: Team Europe make stunning start to Ryder Cup as USA nightmare summed up by Bryson DeChambeau

READ MORE: Tommy Fleetwood's huge age gap with wife mercilessly heckled at Ryder Cup

"I've been looking forward to doing this again since that last putt dropped in Rome," McIlroy told BBC Radio 5 Live. "Or at least since Rickie [Fowler] gave Tommy his putt on the 16th green (laughs). It's been amazing to be a part of another European Ryder Cup team.

"To play alongside this guy, he's one of the best players in the world, and to know that I have him by my side, it frees me up. I can play with ultimate trust and ultimate freedom, and you saw a little bit of that today."

He expressed a similar view when speaking to Sky Sports. "I think when you've got a partner like Tommy, you can play with so much freedom and so much trust in your game because you know you have someone that's going to back you up," McIlroy said. "That's the way I felt the two times we played in Rome and then today.

"Foursomes can be a tough format. You can play a little tentative with the way the format is, but again, knowing I have this man beside me to bail me out if I do hit a bad shot, that's very comforting to know.

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