STRAFFAN, Ireland (AP) — Rory McIlroy watched Novak Djokovic handle boisterous spectators during a win at the U.S. Open and is ready to follow the tennis star’s lead at the Ryder Cup held in the United States this month.
A hostile and partisan crowd is set to greet McIlroy and the European team at Bethpage Black for the Sept. 26-28 matches as the Americans look to regain the cup two years after losing in Rome.
Djokovic had to deal with a similar environment during his U.S. Open quarterfinal match against home favorite Taylor Fritz and handled it well, even blowing kisses at one point to the fans rooting against him.
McIlroy liked what he saw from Djokovic, who gave Europe's golfers a motivational speech in their team room before the victory at the 2023 Ryder Cup about dealing with high-pressure moments.
“He’s been the best at handling that,” McIlroy said Wednesday at the Irish Open, being staged at The K Club — the venue of the 2006 Ryder Cup — this week. “He’s had to deal with it his whole life, whether it’s playing against an American in New York or playing against Roger (Federer) or Rafa (Nadal).
“He came and spoke to us a little bit about that stuff last time in Rome. So maybe taking a leaf out of his book and channeling that energy the right way. But again, all we can do is control our reaction and our emotions to it. I think the less we play into it, the better it is for us.”
The experience of Rome should come in handy at Bethpage for a European team — finalized Monday — showing just one change two years on, with Rasmus Hojgaard qualifying automatically to be the only rookie in the 12-man roster.
McIlroy, who will be competing in his eighth Ryder Cup, used Robert MacIntrye — a rookie in Rome and now a regular contender for events on the PGA Tour — as an example to back up his belief that “pretty much every player on the team is more accomplished than what they were two years ago." The Northern Irishman believes Europe has a “wonderful opportunity” to win a Ryder Cup on the road for the first time since 2012.
“They have a very strong team,” McIlroy said of the Americans. “They’re going to have a pretty raucous crowd on their side and on a golf course that a lot of them know pretty well from previous tournaments there.
“So make no mistake, we know we’re up against it and we know we’ve got a tall task on our hands, but I love the team that Luke has assembled.”
McIlroy branched out into acting this year, securing a small role in golf-related movie “Happy Gilmore 2.”
One reviewer feels he needs to work on those skills.
Shane Lowry, another member of Europe's Ryder Cup team and also teeing it up at The K Club, was asked what he thought about his close friend's performance.
“My daughter watched that the other day,” Lowry said with a smile, “and said Rory’s such a bad actor.”
AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, argues a call against Taylor Fritz, of the United States, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, reacts after defeating Taylor Fritz, of the United States, during the quarterfinal round of the U.S. Open tennis championships, Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)
Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, walks off the third tee during the final round of the Tour Championship golf tournament, Sunday, Aug. 24, 2025, in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
HAVANA (AP) — Cuban soldiers wearing white gloves marched out of a plane on Thursday carrying urns with the remains of the 32 Cuban officers killed during a stunning U.S. attack on Venezuela as trumpets and drums played solemnly at Havana's airport.
Nearby, thousands of Cubans lined one of the Havana’s most iconic streets to await the bodies of colonels, lieutenants, majors and captains as the island remained under threat by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump.
The shoes of Cuban soldiers clacked as they marched stiff-legged into the headquarters of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, next to Revolution Square, with the urns and placed them on a long table next to the pictures of those slain so people could pay their respects.
Thursday’s mass funeral was only one of a handful that the Cuban government has organized in almost half a century.
Hours earlier, state television showed images of more than a dozen wounded people accompanied by Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez arriving Wednesday night from Venezuela. Some were in wheelchairs.
The official announcer indicated that they were “combatants” who had been “wounded” in Venezuela. They were greeted by the Minister of the Interior, Lázaro Alberto Álvarez, and the Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Álvaro López Miera.
Those injured and the bodies of those killed arrived as tensions grow between Cuba and U.S., with President Donald Trump recently demanding that the Caribbean country make a deal with him before it is “too late.” He did not explain what kind of deal.
Trump also has said that Cuba will no longer live off Venezuela's money and oil. Experts warn that the abrupt end of oil shipments could be catastrophic for Cuba, which is already struggling with serious blackouts and a crumbling power grid.
Officials unfurled a massive flag at Havana's airport as President Miguel Díaz-Canel, clad in military garb as commander of Cuba's Armed Forces, stood silent next to former President Raúl Castro, with what appeared to be the relatives of those slain looking on nearby.
Cuban Interior Minister Lázaro Alberto Álvarez Casa said Venezuela was not a distant land for those killed, but a “natural extension of their homeland.”
“The enemy speaks to an audience of high-precision operations, of troops, of elites, of supremacy,” Álvarez said in apparent reference to the U.S. “We, on the other hand, speak of faces, of families who have lost a father, a son, a husband, a brother.”
Álvarez called those slain “heroes,” saying that they were example of honor and “a lesson for those who waver.”
“We reaffirm that if this painful chapter of history has demonstrated anything, it is that imperialism may possess more sophisticated weapons; it may have immense material wealth; it may buy the minds of the wavering; but there is one thing it will never be able to buy: the dignity of the Cuban people,” he said.
Thousands of Cubans lined a street where motorcycles and military vehicles thundered by with the remains of those killed.
“They are people willing to defend their principles and values, and we must pay tribute to them,” said Carmen Gómez, a 58-year-old industrial designer, adding that she hopes no one invades given the ongoing threats.
When asked why she showed up despite the difficulties Cubans face, Gómez replied, "It’s because of the sense of patriotism that Cubans have, and that will always unite us.”
Cuba recently released the names and ranks of 32 military personnel — ranging in age from 26 to 60 — who were part of the security detail of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro during the raid on his residence on January 3. They included members of the Revolutionary Armed Forces and the Ministry of the Interior, the island’s two security agencies.
Cuban and Venezuelan authorities have said that the uniformed personnel were part of protection agreements between the two countries.
Meanwhile, a demonstration was planned for Friday across from the U.S. Embassy in an open-air forum known as the Anti-Imperialist Tribune. Officials have said they expect the demonstration to be massive.
“People are upset and hurt. There’s a lot of talk on social media; but many do believe that the dead are martyrs” of a historic struggle against the United States, analyst and former diplomat Carlos Alzugaray told The Associated Press.
In October 1976, then-President Fidel Castro led a massive demonstration to bid farewell to the 73 people killed in the bombing of a Cubana de Aviación civilian flight financed by anti-revolutionary leaders living in the U.S. Most of the victims were Cuban athletes returning to their island.
In December 1989, officials organized “Operation Tribute” to honor the remains of more than 2,000 Cuban combatants who died in Angola during Cuba’s participation in the war that defeated the South African army and ended the apartheid system. In October 1997, memorial services were held following the arrival of the remains of guerrilla commander Ernesto “Che” Guevara and six of his comrades, who died in 1967.
A day before the remains of those slain arrived in Cuba, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced $3 million in relief aid to help the island recover from the catastrophic Hurricane Melissa, which struck in late October.
The first flight took off from Florida on Wednesday, and a second flight was scheduled for Friday. A commercial vessel also will deliver food and other supplies.
“We have taken extraordinary measures to ensure that this assistance reaches the Cuban people directly, without interference or diversion by the illegitimate regime,” Rubio said, adding that the U.S. government was working with Cuba's Catholic Church.
The announcement riled Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodríguez.
“The U.S. government is exploiting what appears to be a humanitarian gesture for opportunistic and politically manipulative purposes,” he said in a statement. “As a matter of principle, Cuba does not oppose assistance from governments or organizations, provided it benefits the people and the needs of those affected are not used for political gain under the guise of humanitarian aid.”
Coto contributed from San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Workers fly the Cuban flag at half-staff at the Anti-Imperialist Tribune near the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, Monday, Jan. 5, 2026, in memory of Cubans who died two days before in Caracas, Venezuela during the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
