McIlroy's 'disrespectful' car park caddie row blasted as vice-captain opens up
Team USA Ryder Cup vice-captain Fred Couples has hit back at Rory McIlroy after the Northern Irishman's car park caddie row at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome.
McIlroy was incensed on Saturday evening after the final fourballs match of the day. With Europe in a dominant position through two days of action, Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark snatched a point against McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick to give the Americans a glimmer of hope of a comeback.
It was not the result that angered McIlroy but the conduct of Cantlay's caddie, Joe LaCava. The former bagman for Tiger Woods celebrated exuberantly on the 18th green after Cantlay drained a 35-footer for birdie. The former FedEx Cup champion had faced criticism from the crowd throughout the day after a disputed Sky Sports report that claimed Cantlay had caused a "fractured" American team room.
The report claimed Cantlay was refusing to wear a Team USA hat on the course in protest of not being paid for playing the Ryder Cup. So when he won the 18th hole to narrow the deficit to 10.5-5.5, the American team celebrated around the green by waving their hats in the air. LaCava joined in, but he was stood in the middle of the green with McIlroy still waiting to putt.
McIlroy asked LaCava to move, but the American hit back in an exchange that has been widely criticised. And the spat continued in the car park as the teams were ready to depart for their hotels, with McIlroy caught on camera raging at Justin Thomas' caddie Jim "Bones" McKay. Couples has since revealed McIlroy also had some choice words for Brooks Koepka's bagman Ricky Elliott in the foyer of the hotel.
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McIlroy described LaCava's actions as disrespectful, but, speaking on his SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show, Couples believes it was McIlroy who was out of line. “He was yelling at Bones, which is disrespectful with his wife standing a foot from him saying words that shouldn’t be said. Now, I’m on Rory’s side too because I love Rory McIlroy to death. But when you’re incensed and you want to fight, you’re going to say things. Is that disrespectful?”
Team USA Ryder Cup vice-captain Fred Couples (left) believes neither Patrick Cantlay nor his caddie, Joe LaCava, were disrespectful to Rory McIlroy. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)Couples admits he thinks LaCava made a mistake with his actions on the 18th green, but he says the incident was blown out of proportion. He said: "I asked him (LaCava) what was said. He said Rory looked at him and said, ‘Mooove.’ And he made the 'ooo' last a little longer. And Joe replied, ‘Relax, Rory.’”
"I want someone to tell me where anything that happened is disrespectful. I didn’t see it. Patrick screamed, which he doesn’t do very often and he tipped his fake cap. We all were on the front of the green. No one moved. We just took our hats off and made little circles with our hats.
"Joe LaCava was standing (on the green). I don’t think he moved two feet. People think he shushed Rory when he did that hand gesture,” said Couples. “Little Harry Diamond, who we all love, too, caddies for Rory, then he chimed in. So Joe said, ‘I don’t have time for you.’
“Then Joe turned to get out of the way. And Shane Lowry and (European vice-captain) Thomas Bjorn were screaming some things at him, which is fine. I don’t have any problem with Shane Lowry or Thomas Bjorn – they’re protecting the number one player on their team. But no one did anything wrong.
"(LaCava) didn’t bump into (McIlroy). He didn’t stand over him. It wouldn’t be a 15-yard penalty in college football for taunting. He said he was 6 feet from him. Was Joe right? Probably not. Did anyone disrespect the European team?”
McIlroy was able to put the drama behind him the next day delivering his fourth point of the week to put the finishing touches on the best Ryder Cup performance of his career. He defeated Sam Burns in the Sunday singles, helping his team to a 16.5-11.5 triumph.
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