Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy insists he was more intimidated by the penal rough than Tiger Woods' stunning comeback win at the Tour Championship.
The 29-year-old began the final day at East Lake three shots behind the 14-time major winner but fell away after some poor driving saw him finish six behind. McIlroy knew what the inference was when asked whether he was intimidated but he expertly avoided the question.
"That East Lake rough was really tough. That was the most intimidating thing about it," he said ahead of his fifth Ryder Cup appearance at Le Golf National this week. "I didn't have a good view from the trees so I could not see what was happening that much.
"This week he is one of 12. We're not looking to beat any one individual and to focus on one player is silly, especially as I might not even see him this week. I don't want to speculate how he's going to play or how he's going to do but it's given their team some momentum coming over here. But we're looking to beat the USA team not Tiger Woods."
The Americans are favourites to retain the trophy they won on home soil two years ago and McIlroy believes there has been a distinct change in their team dynamic.
"The strength of Europe has been we all get behind one another, even whatever differences we have we put them to the side for this week and we are a cohesive unit," he added.
"That has served us well for the Ryder Cups we've had success in. We've won a little more than we've lost in the last few years. The American team is very strong and the dynamic has become a little more cohesive in the last few years and I think that is to do with the younger guys coming on board and embracing the Ryder Cup.
"Jordan (Spieth), Rickie (Fowler), JT (Justin Thomas) and those guys spend a lot of time together and it seems the togetherness is there a bit more than it was in the 1990s and 2000s."
