It was the final putt of the opening day, and it brought the most enduring image from the Ryder Cup so far.
Rory McIlroy's eagle on the 16th hole on Friday evening, closed the gap to 5-3 at the end of Friday's four-balls. The result sealed a winning session for Europe after they lost 4-0 in the morning's foursomes.
McIlroy's win with Thomas Pieters meant that Europe ended the day with a badly needed win.
The only eagle of day one.#TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/Q5WSbdEh4T
— Ryder Cup Team EUR (@RyderCupEurope) October 1, 2016
Speaking after the win, McIlroy admitted that the bowing celebration was pre-planned in an effort to silence the boisterous American fans at Hazeltine.
"Even before I hit that putt, I wanted to put an exclamation point on that session for us. I honestly actually thought about the celebration before I hit the putt. I sort of knew - I knew it had a good chance of going in. It was downhill, I just had to get it started on the right line and gravity did the rest."
"It's a hostile environment out there, and I just want everyone that's watching out there to know how much this means to us, how much it means to me personally and obviously us as a team."
"You know, we're not going down without a fight. It was 4-zip after the morning. We've pulled it back a good bit, and we plan to pull it back even further going into tomorrow."
McIlroy on that celebration. #TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/GqQgJz2SuT
— Ryder Cup Team EUR (@RyderCupEurope) October 1, 2016
McIlroy added that he has no issues with the fact, that is celebration could encourage the Americans. The Hollywood golfer, is paired once more with Pieters in the first game
"No worries on my part. I bowed to them, said, "You're welcome for the show," and we move on."
No team has ever won the Ryder Cup having been whitewashed in the opening session. Europe's performances in the four-balls still gives them a chance.
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