14 November 2023 , 16:23
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Rory McIlroy has recalled what happened at the Ryder Cup that led to a fallout with Patrick Cantlay's caddie, Joe LaCava, while blasting the golfer a 'd***'.
McIlroy helped Team Europe win the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Italy last month. Europe claimed a 16.5-11.5 victory over Team USA to regain the trophy having lost at Whistling Straits two years earlier.
The Saturday afternoon fourballs in Italy saw McIlroy paired with Matt Fitzpatrick and take on Cantlay and US Open champion Wyndham Clark of Team USA. Cantlay and Clark won the match 1-up thanks to winning the final two holes to give the US a chance of claiming an unlikely victory on Sunday.
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However, following the conclusion of the match on the 18th green, McIlroy was left irritated by the behaviour of LaCava, who had previously been a caddie for Tiger Woods. Cantlay's caddie appeared to walk near McIlroy while he was lining up a putt on the final hole of the match, leaving the Northern Irishman irritated.
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The argument between the pair continued into the car park outside the Marco Simone clubhouse. McIlroy has opened up on what bothered him the most about the feud between himself and LaCava.
“Here’s what angered me. My relationship with [Patrick] Cantlay is average at best," McIlroy told the Irish Independent. "We don’t have a tonne in common and see the world quite differently.
“But when I saw he was getting stick on the 17th and 18th greens, I tried to quiet the crowd for him. And I don’t think Fitz [Matt Fitzpatrick] and I were afforded the same opportunity to try and hole those putts to halve the match.
“I shook Joe’s [LaCava] hand and Patrick’s hand. Those three putts he made on 16, 17, and 18 were fantastic, and under that pressure, to give your team a glimmer of hope going into Sunday was big balls. So all respect to him.
“There was a bit of argy-bargy at the back of the 18th green with Fred Couples and Thomas Bjorn – and that’s fine – but as I’m walking back to the locker room I can feel this red mist coming over me. ‘No! That wasn’t right.’
Rory McIlroy was left irritated by Joe LaCava during the Saturday afternoon fourballs in the Ryder Cup (Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)“And they’re trying to defuse the situation, but I start having a go at them. Joe LaCava used to be a nice guy when he was caddying for Tiger, and now he’s caddying for that d*** [Cantlay] he’s turned into an a***. I still wasn’t in a great headspace.”
McIlroy then went on to reveal that he had received text messages from Woods following the confrontation with LaCava in the car park. McIlroy and Woods are set to start their new golf league, TGL, this January.
“There were also three texts and two missed calls from Tiger because they’re [LaCava and Woods] obviously still close,” said McIlroy. “I sent him a quick message: ‘It will be fine – long day – just want to go to bed'.”