McIlroy got 'angrier and angrier' during infamous Ryder Cup bust-up in car park

03 January 2024 , 10:20

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McIlroy got 'angrier and angrier' during infamous Ryder Cup bust-up in car park

Rory McIlroy has opened up on his infamous clash with Patrick Cantlay and his caddie Joe LaCava during the Ryder Cup.

McIlroy was left incensed after LaCava stood in his line of sight and waved his cap while the Northern Irishman was preparing for a putt, prompting an angry confrontation on the green. Things then spilled over in the car park later in the day, with McIlroy seen getting pulled away by team-mate Shane Lowry.

And while reflecting on the incident in an appearance on the Stick to Football podcast, brought to you by Sky Bet, McIlroy admitted he regrets his actions. "It happened on the 18th green and then we shook hands after – everything was okay," he said.

"I got back into the team room and Shane Lowry was giving us an incredible, motivational talk and as he's speaking, I'm getting angrier and angrier about what happened and that riled me up to what occurred in the car park afterwards.

"As a competitor and a golfer, I have nothing but respect for Patrick Cantlay – he's an amazing player. I lost it [my emotions], calling people names and things happened that I regret, I used some language in front of people that should never hear that and I'm sitting in the car afterwards going, 'I probably shouldn't have done that.'

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"But we shook hands and made up and had a beer together on the Sunday night – everything was fine." McIlroy had previously branded Cantlay a "d***", telling the Irish Independent last year: "My relationship with Cantlay is average at best.

"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.

Rory McIlroy was involved in a furious confrontation in the car park at the Ryder Cup

"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.'

"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."

Matthew Cooper