"I knew I needed one coming into this week because, quite frankly, my performance at Whistling Straits wasn't what I expect of myself.
"This week I can leave here with my head held high and feel like I've done everything I can for the European team."
Later in his news conference, McIlroy said he was not the only member of the European team who was desperate to atone for the chastening defeat in Wisconsin two years ago.
"The scoreline - 19-9 - that hurt, it really did," added McIlroy. "Personally, I didn't feel like I gave my best performance and I didn't feel like I did my part for the team.
"There were a few of us up here on that team that wanted to come back and, even though everyone at the start of the week was talking about 'do you want to get revenge', this wasn't about revenge.
"This was about redemption and showing what we could do."
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