Team Europe Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has addressed a heated moment that saw Rory McIlroy confront Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava, saying he was in McIlroy’s line of vision.
The incident happened in the Saturday afternoon fourball session, which produced some incredible golf as Team USA kept its hopes of retaining the trophy alive with a 3-1 win.
One of the main instigators of the comeback was Patrick Cantlay, who was also at the centre of controversy following a report that he is refusing to wear a hat to demonstrate his frustration that the team is not being paid for its appearance at Marco Simone. That claim has been refuted by Cantlay, though, who has responded to “hat-gate” by saying the reason for his lack of hat is “it just doesn’t fit”.
Regardless, it was a source of both joviality and drama during the action, with onlooking Team USA players waving their caps to salute Cantlay after he rattled off three successive birdies to claim victory in his fourball match.
Meanwhile, on the 18th hole, one of his European opponents in the match, McIlroy, confronted LaCava following his hat-waving – an argument that continued in the car park after the session.
Rory McIlroy and Joe LaCava had a tense moment in the Saturday afternoon fourball match
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Amid all that, Team Europe takes a five-point lead into the Sunday singles, needing just four more points to reclaim the trophy. The man trying to lead the players to that triumph is captain Donald, but before he does, he was asked to comment on the spat between McIlroy and LaCava, and he shed more light on what had led to the issue.
He said: “Yeah, obviously I was there on 18. I saw it unfold when Patrick made that putt, Joe was waving his hat. Obviously there was some hat-waving going on throughout the day from the crowd. Talked to Rory. He politely asked Joe to move aside. He was in his line of vision. He stood there and didn’t move for a while and continued to wave the hat, so I think Rory was upset about that.”
Footage from one angle has since emerged showing LaCava was interfering with McIlroy’s preparations to take his putt on the 18th, which appears to back-up…
..
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Golf Monthly RSS Feed…