Rory McIlroy has a 5-word message for Luke Donald upon Ryder Cup confirmation

2025 has been a mixed year for Rory McIlroy. While he began the season with a victory at AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and later followed it up with wins at the Players Championship and The Masters, McIlroy's form has somehow dipped and he has found himself surrounded by some controversy.

However, it now seems like the struggles McIlroy faced at the 2025 US Open can take a bit of a backseat as he has become the first golfer to qualify for the 2025 European Ryder Cup Team automatically. After this development was made official, McIlroy sent a message to Team Europe captain Luke Donald.

On Instagram, Rory McIlroy uploaded a story sharing the news. In the story, he sent a 5-world message to Donald. McIlroy wrote:

"I'll see you at Bethpage @lukedonald"

You can check Rory McIlroy's story below:

An image from Rory McIlroy's story [Image via Instagram: @rorymcilroy]

It must be noted that when Rory McIlroy steps on Bethpage Black golf course to play in the Ryder Cup this year, he will be making his eighth appearance at the tournament. All eyes will be on the Northern Irishman to see if he can lead Europe to defending their title.

While it's a possible task, McIlroy will have to get back to his best. In his most recent outing, McIlroy played at the 2025 US Open where he did not play to the best of his abilities. After the end of four rounds, he finished T19, which is a good position, but fans would have expected much more from him.

How much did Rory McIlroy earn at the 2025 US Open?

The 2025 US Open had a $21.5M purse. While the largest chunk of this purse went to the tournament winner JJ Spaun ($4,300,000), Rory McIlroy earned $242,532 for finishing T19. Here is a detailed look at the payout for the 2025 US Open:

WINNER - J. J. Spaun (-1) [$4,300,000]
2 - Robert MacIntyre (+1) [$2,322,000]
3 - Viktor Hovland (+2) [$1,459,284]
T4 - Cameron Young (+3) [$876,869]
T4 - Tyrrell Hatton (+3) [$876,869]
T4 - Carlos Ortiz (+3) [$876,869]
T7 - Sam Burns (+4) [$614,423]
T7 - Jon Rahm (+4) [$614,423]
T7 - Scottie Scheffler (+4) [$614,423]
T10 - Ben Griffin (+5) [$465,937]
T10 - Russell Henley (+5) [$465,937]
T12 - Xander Schauffele (+6) [$348,967]
T12 - Brooks Koepka (+6) [$348,967]
T12 - Chris Kirk (+6) [$348,967]
T12 - Christiaan Bezuidenhout (+6) [$348,967]
T12 - Rasmus Neergaard-Petersen (+6) [$348,967]
T12 - Thriston Lawrence (+6) [$348,967]
T12 - Adam Scott (+6) [$348,967]
T19 - Rory McIlroy (+7) [$242,532]
T19- Ryan Fox (+7) [$242,532]
T19 - Victor Perez (+7) [$242,532]
T19 - Emiliano Grillo (+7) [$242,532]
T23 - Collin Morikawa (+8) [$161,132]
T23 - Patrick Reed (+8) [$161,132]
T23 - Jordan Spieth (+8) [$161,132]
T23 - Thomas Detry (+8) [$161,132]
T23 - Jason Day (+8) [$161,132]
T23 - Sam Stevens (+8) [$161,132]
T23 - Matt Wallace (+8) [$161,132]
T23 - Max Greyserman (+8) [$161,132]
T23 - Nick Taylor (+8) [$161,132]
T23 - Chris Gotterup (+8) [$161,132]
T33 - Tom Kim (+9) [$113,503]
T33 - Aaron Rai (+9) [$113,503]
T33 - J. T. Poston (+9) [$113,503]
T33 - Keegan Bradley (+9) [$113,503]
37 - Maverick McNealy (+10) [$101,379]
T38 - Taylor Pendrith (+11) [$90,408]
T38 - Tony Finau (+11) [$90,408]
T38 - Matt Fitzpatrick (+11) [$90,408]
T38 - Marc Leishman (+11) [$90,408]
T42 - Hideki Matsuyama (+12) [$72,943]
T42 - Andrew Novak (+12) [$72,943]
T42 - Si Woo Kim (+12) [$72,943]
T42 - Trevor Cone (+12) [$72,943]
T46 - Niklas Norgaard (+13) [$56,944]
T46 - Daniel Berger (+13) [$56,944]
T46 - Rasmus Hojgaard (+13) [$56,944]
T46 - Jhonattan Vegas (+13) [$56,944]
T50 - Ryan McCormick (+14) [$48,101]
T50 - Michael Kim (+14) [$48,101]
T50 - Adam Schenk (+14) [$48,101]
T50 - Mackenzie Hughes (+14) [$48,101]
T50 - Ryan Gerard (+14) [$48,101]
T55 - Justin Hastings (a) (+15) [$0]
T55 - Laurie Canter (+15) [$46,081]
T57 - Sungjae Im (+16) [$45,423]
T57 - Denny McCarthy (+16) [$45,423]
T59 - Harris English (+18) [$44,984]
T59 - Brian Harman (+18) [$44,984]
T61 - Jordan Smith (+19) [$43,445]
T61 - Jhonny Keefer (+19) [$43,445]
T61 - James Nicolas (+19) [$43,445]
T64 - Cam Davis (+22) [$42,351]
T64 - Matthieu Pavon (+22) [$42,351]
66 - Philip Barbaree Jr. (+24) [$41,692]

About the author

Varun is a Golf and WWE journalist for Sportskeeda with over 4 years of work experience in his bag. Currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Journalism and Mass Communication, he worked for many sites, including EssentiallySports, FanSided, Khel Now, Get Football, and a few others.

Varun is a fan of golfer Scottie Scheffler due to the latter’s mindset, and he admires Roman Reigns’ ability to keep moving forward in life regardless of any obstacles. As a purist golf fan, he would love to compete at the Masters if given the opportunity, but is also happy with LIV Golf driving more eyeballs towards the sport. If he could go back in time and be a manager for someone in the WWE, it would have been Big Show.

Varun’s mantra for writing factually correct feature articles is thorough verification. Another key element in his writing is staying updated with both sports through the official websites of pro wrestling and Golf. He has had the privilege of interviewing MMA legend Greg Jackson in his career so far.

Varun likes to spend his free time reading or writing poetry and fiction. He also plans to learn and play golf in his spare time.

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Edited by Varun Anand Bhat