31 January 2023 , 09:24
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After a humiliating defeat to their American rivals in 2021, Europe's chances heading into this year's Ryder Cup have been given a huge boost two years on thanks to the form of Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm. A red-hot Team USA blew away Padraig Harrington's team in 2021, in a dark few days for European golf.
This new wave of American talent proved grim reading for Team Europe, with many within the sport predicting an upcoming period of dominance on the back of the battering at Whistling Straits. With their next battle now just months away though, the Europeans' hopes have been given a healthy lift.
Amid all the American talent at the top of professional golf, arguably the two most in form players on the planet are Europe's two talismen in Rahm and McIlroy.
Both players are accustomed to finding themselves at the top of leaderboards, and this has been even more common than usual in recent months. Since the beginning of the 2022-23 season across both the DP World and PGA Tour, nobody has been in hotter form than Rahm.
In his last seven tournament outings, the fiery Spaniard has remarkably won four events, spanning across three different continents. His other three performances have not been far off either, with Rahm finishing in top 10 on all three occasions.
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Jon Rahm has dominated the PGA Tour in the early stages of the season (Mark J Terrill/AP/REX/Shutterstock)Fortunately for European golf fans, the same can be said for world No. 1 McIlroy. Since becoming FedEx Cup champion at the end of last season, the Northern Irishman has more than lived up to his on top of the world ranking, failing to finish outside the top five in his last six tournaments.
Those six outings have included three fourth place finishes, a tie for second as well as two victories. McIlroy's latest title came earlier this week, after the four-time major champion secured his third Dubai Desert Classic in a dramatic week for the world No. 1 and the man who finished a shot behind in second, Patrick Reed.
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Rory McIlroy added his third Dubai Desert Classic title on Monday (Getty Images)It was the perfect start to 2023 for McIlroy, who more than earned his spot at the top of the world rankings after a scintillating year prior. His American rivals will no doubt be wary of a fully-firing McIlroy, with the Northern Irishman a totally different player to the one who was left in tears following Europe's hammering at Whistling Straits less than a year-and-a-half ago.
And the four-time major champion will have raised further alarms in the Team USA camp post-victory in Dubai, after McIlroy admitted he is still 'far from his best' despite his blistering form. He said: "The most satisfying thing is I haven’t had my best, far from it, and to be able to win when you don’t have your best, that’s the holy grail of what we are trying to do.”