Rory McIlroy reveals he has cleared the air with Tiger Woods' ex caddie LaCava
"Tensions were high" Rory McIlroy opens up on fiery exchange with caddie at Ryder Cup.
Rory McIlroy admits he has made up with Tiger Woods' long-time caddie Joe LaCava following their awkward exchange on the 18th green at the Ryder Cup last month.
McIlroy revealed he has made peace with Patrick Cantlay's caddie following their Ryder Cup row in Rome when speaking to BBC Sport at F1's US Grand Prix over the weekend.
The European Ryder Cup star took aim at LaCava in his Saturday fourballs match after LaCava refused to get out of his way as he lined up his birdie attempt on the 18th green.
McIlroy then took his anger out in the parking lot at Marco Simone and it was there where he had to pulled away by Shane Lowry.
Man, he is out there for a LONG time.pic.twitter.com/Tqlj2eNucG
— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) October 1, 2023
But the incident fuelled McIlroy as he returned on Sunday morning to defeat Sam Burns 3&1 in his singles match.
McIlroy admits LaCava came into the European team room to clear the air after Luke Donald's side had seen out a deserved 16.5-11.5 victory.
"Things happen in the heat of the moment, tensions were high," McIlroy told BBC Sport.
"Joe LaCava came into the European team room on the Sunday night and had a drink and a chat."
McIlroy added: "I’ve had a great relationship with Joe over the years when he caddied for Tiger and that wasn’t going to change. For me, the incident happened, I purposely didn’t want to meet anyone on the Sunday morning because I wanted what had happened to fuel me for that day.
"My whole focus was let’s make sure Europe win the Ryder Cup and then we will sort all the other stuff out afterwards. And it’s all fine. We’re all friends now."
McIlroy ended up being the top points scorer for the week with 4 points from five.
