St, Andrews, Scotland …

Ryder Cup rookie sensation Thomas Pieters singled out Rory McIlroy for special praise ahead of confirmation he will join the four-time Major winner Stateside next season.

Callaway attached Pieters created European Ryder Cup history in securing four of a possible five points last week at Hazeltine and the most by a Euro rookie.

Three of those points were achieved in teaming with McIlroy before the Belgium humbled J B Holmes in the Sunday Singles.

Thomas Pieters suggests Rory McIlroy is like a machine after playing three matches alongside the four-time Major winner last week at Hazeltine.

But then being on a losing team also took some of the gloss of Pieters achievement.

“It is tough to talk about my individual performance when you lose as a team,” he said.

“You go there as a team, so you win or you lose as a team, and while there’s talk about me being a rookie and having won four points, three of those four points were with Rory, so I don’t see them as my four points”.

Nonetheless, the unassuming Antwerp-born golfer awarded McIlroy full marks for his effort.

“Rory is like a machine,” he said.

“Of course it was match-play and you’re going to take on much more risk that playing in another tournament but we both hit it very long, we both played very aggressive and I think we both believe in our abilities that if one of us hit a bad shot to a tight pin, the other one is going to pull it off.”

Pieters was speaking ahead of today’s (THUS) starting $US 5m Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in Scotland.

He confirmed he will play early next year two regular PGA Tour events and also two WGC sanctioned events Stateside ahead of making his Masters debut in April, and in what the current World No. 39 hoped was full PGA Tour playing status for the 2018 season.

And joining Pieters this week will be Hazeltine colleagues Danny Willett, Lee Westwood and Matthew Fitzpatrick.