ROME — Caddie Joe LaCava reached out to apologize to Rory McIlroy following Saturday’s incident at the Ryder Cup.
In the final match of the second session on Saturday, Patrick Cantlay dropped a 40-foot putt that ultimately won his fourball battle against Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy. The putt came after Cantlay had been harassed for much of the afternoon following a Sky Sports report that Cantlay had caused a locker room fracture for the Americans and that he wasn’t wearing a hat out of protest that the players should be played for their Ryder Cup participation. (A report both Cantlay and USA members denied after the round.) After Cantlay’s putt dropped, the American players and LaCava waved their hats at the crowd, replicating the move galleries had been doing toward Cantlay.
‘Hatgate’ – the unabridged version.
The caddie was completely out of order here in my view and was deliberately trying to put Rory off.
LaCava’s ‘excuse’ to Shane was, “I just wanted to celebrate” –
Utter bulls*it, Joe. pic.twitter.com/d9pzBN5mwN
— TheGolfDivoTee™ (@TheGolfDivoTee) October 1, 2023
LaCava’s celebration lasted almost 90 seconds, and at one point LaCava moved right next to McIlroy as McIlroy was attempting to make his putt to tie the match (a putt he ultimately missed). Following the conclusion of the match LaCava got into it with multiple European players, and later cameras caught McIlroy in a heated exchange in the parking lot over the incident.
“I saw it unfold when Patrick made that putt, Joe was waving his hat,” Luke Donald later explained Saturday. “Obviously, there was some hat waving going on throughout the day from the crowd not our players. Talked to Rory. He politely asked Joe to move aside. He was in his line of vision. He stood there and didn’t move for a while and continued to wave the hat, so I think Rory was upset about that.”
As for the parking-lot incident, Donald said he hadn’t seen it but would address the matter with the team.
Any worries of lingering animosity between the two teams was quelled on Sunday. According to NBC Sports, LaCava sent a text to McIlroy’s camp late Saturday night. LaCava said, ‘I love you guys and I respect all of you … would it be possible to have a face-to-face with McIlroy?” according to NBC’s Steve Sands. That meeting took place Sunday morning, and the situation was diffused.
LaCava and Cantlay were greeted with heavy boos on the first tee Sunday, but it appears the situation has been put behind the two teams.
LaCava began working with Cantlay this year. He was previously on the bag for Tiger Woods and is known for his longtime partnership with Fred Couples.
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This article was originally published on golfdigest.com
