Ryder Cup 2014: Alex Ferguson speech has McIlroy 'in a trance'

Europe's Ryder Cup golfers might not have been given the infamous hairdryer treatment, but a pep-talk from former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson has inspired the team ahead of the tournament this weekend.

Rory McIlroy, who had not even been born when Ferguson took over at Old Trafford, was gushing in his praise for the veteran manager after he addressed the team on Tuesday night.

"I was just sitting there and looking up at him, and I didn't take my eyes off him," said McIlroy. "I was sort of in this trance just listening to everything that he was saying and I'm sort of thinking, this is all the stuff that he's probably said to Manchester United teams over the years."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The Northern Irishman explained that Ferguson had given tips on how to win when you are favourites, as the European team is ahead of golf's biggest showdown this weekend.

"We're slight favourites for a reason. We deserve to be. We've played well this year. It's not something that we should shy away from. It's something that we should embrace," explained McIlroy.

Not everyone in the team holds Ferguson in such esteem, but even Spaniard Sergio Garcia, a Real Madrid fan, was won over. "It was really, really interesting, and I'm actually glad that I got to know him a little bit better and listen to him a little bit."

Ferguson is not the first motivational speaker to be drafted in. "Team talks have become major currency at Ryder Cups," says the Daily Telegraph, citing Seve Ballesteros's conference call with members of the European team in 2010.

"The celebrity speech has become a fixture in the build-up to Ryder Cups, with the USA having used former president George W Bush and celebrated F16 pilot Major Dan Rooney in past years to lift their teams," says the BBC. "Ferguson followed in the footsteps of Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola, who addressed the Europe team at Medinah in 2012, and Welsh rugby legend Gareth Edwards, who spoke at Celtic Manor two years previously."