Hours after the conclusion of the 2023 Ryder Cup, viral videos were still surfacing of Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and others spraying champagne and dancing on the team bus to celebrate their crushing victory over the Americans. Naturally, the rejoicing continued in private for McIlroy and Lowry, but with the added bonus of an unexpected guest.
In a recent sit-down interview with the Irish Independent’s Paul Kimmage, McIlroy and Lowry revealed that once they had departed from Rome and touched down in Florida, they shared a few celebratory glasses of wine with Michael Jordan.
The group met at McIlroy’s house in Jupiter, Fla., and European captain Luke Donald also joined in on the fun.
“Rory and Luke started texting him, and the next thing we’re sitting there drinking with Michael Jordan, just the four of us, and I’m like, ‘Whaat!’” Lowry said to Kimmage.
It’s no surprise that the NBA legend was following the Ryder Cup action. Although he didn’t make it over to Rome, Jordan attends the biennial competition almost every time it’s played, and it is well documented that he is avid golfer himself. Plus, McIlroy and Lowry are both members of Jordan’s private club in Hobe Sound, Fla., called the Grove XXIII.
What should come as a shock is the fact that Jordan would raise a glass with members of the European squad. As Lowry said, “He’s very much a pro-USA guy.” Jordan was even appointed to serve as a U.S. team assistant captain at the 2009 Presidents Cup by Fred Couples.
It seems as though Jordan was able to put his allegiance aside to celebrate with McIlroy, Lowry and Donald, however. He sat with the trio for three hours. The group watched Ryder Cup highlights and discussed issues that arose during the competition, such as pay-for-play.
“He sat with us from six to nine,” McIlroy said. “We were talking about the issue of players being paid at the Ryder Cup and he told a story about the U.S. basketball team, The Dream Team, at the Olympics in ’92. ‘Do you think I could have got paid to play in the Olympics?’ he said. ‘These people are missing of 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. And that’s pretty much how I see it.”
Unlike the clips from after-hours in Rome, there was no viral video captured from the unlikely meeting between Jordan and the Europeans. This was much to Lowry’s dismay.
“I saw Shane the next day and he’s like, ‘I so wanted to take a photo,” McIlroy said.
“I’d give anything for that photograph,” Lowry added. “Can you imagine that on your wall?”