Golfer Rory McIlroy has told of how he was reduced to "tears" by an emotional video message from his caddie ahead of the 2023 Ryder Cup.
The personal video from best friend Harry Diamond was played for the Holywood-born sports star at a Ryder Cup Team Europe meeting earlier this week.
Every European player received a similar message from someone close to them.
After watching the video, the world number two spoke of how they have enjoyed an "incredible" friendship after meeting aged just seven at Holywood Golf Club in Co Down where McIlroy is from.
"There were a lot of tears shed," McIlroy told the BBC Sport NI.
"Harry did my one, just sort of bringing us through our journey."
McIlroy also told of what it meant for all the Ryder Cup players to receive messages of support from their loved ones ahead of the start of the competition in Rome.
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"From when we were kids, meeting at Holywood Golf Club when we were seven years old on the putting green to all the way through and playing amateur golf together, and now we're doing our third Ryder Cup together and everything that we've done in between that time," he said.
"It's incredible.
"We're all here and we're all trying to play for our team-mates and our captain and our vice-captains, but then to receive a message like that and to realise how many more people that you're representing by being here, it's really, really cool.
"The other guys got messages that meant just as much to them."
McIlroy, who is making his seventh Ryder Cup appearance, added that European captain Luke Donald had decided to get the emotion out of the way for the players before the golf begins.
"It's sort of flipped," he said.
"Previous Ryder Cups we've sort of gone pretty light-hearted at the start of the week and then we get hit with an emotional bomb before we go play Friday.
Fist pumping is now a guarantee #TeamEurope pic.twitter.com/kVww4PIdnL
— Rory McIlroy (@McIlroyRory) September 24, 2023
"It's a little different this year.
"So it flipped a little bit and I think that was part of Luke's plan and strategy."
