Pain turns to joy for McIlroy after victory

McIlroy holed the winning putt on the 17th green to secure a 3&1 victory for himself and fellow Northern Irishman Graeme McDowell over foursomes opponents Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan.

It was in stark contrast to Saturday's events on the same green when a missed putt by McIlroy meant their foursomes match against United States rivals Stewart Cink and Matt Kuchar went to the 18th before the European pair eventually lost.

Europe captain Colin Montgomerie gave both players a pep-talk before the match's third session started late Saturday afternoon, and it had the desired effect as their win hauled Europe level at 6-6.

"It is complete opposite ends of the spectrum," said the 21-year-old Ryder Cup rookie McIlroy. "We had a job to do going down the last Saturday, and we needed a good tee shot on the last and needed a win on that hole to get something out of the match. We were not able to do that.

"(Sunday) felt great. To get that first win under my belt in the Ryder Cup is fantastic, and to do it alongside this guy (McDowell) is even more special.

"He's been great for me this week. He has made my life a lot easier, you know, walking the fairways with him."

McIlroy and McDowell played three matches together, winning one, halving one and losing one, suggesting it could be the start of a prodigious Ryder Cup pairing.

"At the start of the week, there was no one else I really wanted to play with. You know, he was the guy I wanted to partner," added McIlroy. "It was great to get three games with him. Even the match that we halved and the match we lost, we both played very, very well."