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Watch: Rory McIlroy bows to crowd after drilling match-winning putt

Michael Madrid / USA TODAY Sports

Think Rory McIlroy's fired up?

The FedEx Cup champion and Europe's biggest star at Hazeltine closed the show in emphatic fashion on Day 1 at the Ryder Cup. McIlroy knocked down a mid-range eagle putt to win his match with Thomas Pieters over Dustin Johnson and Matt Kuchar, and let the partisan crowd know that the defending champions weren't going down lightly on enemy soil.

"It was hostile out there," McIlroy told ESPN's Jason Sobel after the dramatic finish. "Reactions like that on the last, I just want to let people know how much it means to us."

Europe won three of the final four matches, trailing 5-3 after dropping the opening sessions.

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