Rory McIlroy says a second away win in the Ryder Cup with Europe would top many of his most memorable individual achievements.

McIlroy secured the career Grand Slam with his play-off victory over Justin Rose at the Masters in April, becoming the first European golfer to ever achieve that feat.

But the Northern Irishman believes a win at this week's 45th Ryder Cup, at Bethpage in New York, would rank as one of his best accomplishments.  

McIlroy was part of the team that launched a spectacular final-day fightback to win in Medinah, Illinois, in 2012, which remains the most recent away win by either team.

Speaking to reporters at Thursday's pre-tournament press conference, McIlroy said: "I still want to play well for myself, and I'm still proudest of my individual moments, but my most memorable moments have been in the Ryder Cup.

"Winning another away Ryder Cup would be one of the biggest achievements of my career." 

McIlroy is making his eighth consecutive Ryder Cup appearance, the longest active streak by any player. Since his 2010 debut, he has featured in every single session other than the Saturday foursomes in 2021.

McIlroy was Europe's top scorer at a Ryder Cup for the first time in 2023, earning four points from five matches, and the visitors have retained the core of that victorious team.

As well as keeping Luke Donald on as captain, Europe have retained 11 of their 12 players from the last edition in Rome, making the fewest changes from one Ryder Cup to the next by any team in modern history (since 1979).

Even that lone change has seen Rasmus Hojgaard replace his twin brother Nicolai, and McIlroy believes the continuity in Europe's ranks will work in their favour.

"The one thing I've talked about a lot is that I love the continuity of this team. We've won before," he said.

"I feel like it has been a really cohesive group over the last three years, so we all know what to expect, and we all know our roles. We can give it a really good go this week.

"We are playing for history; we're playing for the players that came before us and the people that basically laid the foundations for what the European Ryder Cup Team is.

"But we are also playing for the guys behind us – the young boys that are dreaming of becoming European Ryder Cup players.

"We want to try to leave a legacy for them as well. We have a wonderful opportunity this week, but we understand it's going to be very difficult."