Rory McIlroy fights back tears at Ryder Cup as he denies meeting Joe LaCava

Rory McIlroy was on the verge of tears as he addressed his furious bust-up with Patrick Cantlay's caddie after winning his singles match at the Ryder Cup.

Ben Smith

01 Oct 2023

Rory McIlroy fights back tears at Ryder Cup as he denies meeting Joe LaCava

Rory McIlroy was holding back tears as he revealed his furious bust-up with Patrick Cantlay's caddie Joe LaCava 'lit a fire' under Team Europe's bellies.

McIlroy was incandescent with rage after his Saturday evening fourballs match with Matthew Fitzpatrick had concluded in defeat against Cantlay and Wyndham Clark.

The 34-year-old was angry that LaCava continued to celebrate Cantlay's sensational birdie putt by waving his hat around on the green.

The gesture was in support for the American, 30, who was accused of not wearing a Team USA cap as a protest about not getting paid to play in the Ryder Cup.

Cantlay denied he was protesting.

As for McIlroy, the verbal exchange he had on the green with LaCava overspilled into the car park at the on-course hotel.

He had to be forced into a vehicle by Shane Lowry in front of his wife Erica Stoll after he is said to have yelled at the caddie: "It shouldn't happen! It shouldn't happen! It's a f---ing disgrace!"

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According to SI, McIlroy and LaCava are said to have patched things up before the Sunday singles began after LaCava reached out via text, saying he had 'nothing but respect' for the four-times major champion.

But McIlroy said he had not met the caddie. "I have not met Joe," he said.

Cantlay and McIlroy both won their matches. McIlroy defeated Sam Burns 3&1 whereas the American saw off Justin Rose 2&1 in a tense battle.

McIlroy said:

"It means an awful lot. I was so disappointed after Whistling Straits. We all were. And we wanted to come here to Rome this year and redeem ourselves a bit.

"We've got some fresh blood on the team that I think has worked really, really well. I just knew that I needed to putt in a better performance for my teammates this week, and you know, thankfully I was able to do that."

After Cantlay won, LaCava told SI's Bob Harig that he wasn't able to speak about the topic per a request by U.S. captain Zach Johanson.

McIlroy's point meant the score was 13-7 in favour of Europe.