GUIDONIA MONTCELIO, Italy – A war of words on the final green Saturday at the Ryder Cup spilled into the parking lot, where Rory McIlroy and caddy Jim “Bones” Mackay had to be separated before leaving Marco Simone.
Tensions flared at the bottom of the 18th green when Patrick Cantlay, who had been heavily criticized by fans for his decision not to wear a team cap this week, hit a 43-foot birdie shot. That prompted American players and caddies, including Cantlay’s caddy Joe LaCava, to take off their hats and twirl them around their heads – a mock celebration of what the fans had done to Cantlay on every tee and green.
LaCava continued to celebrate even as McIlroy lined up his putt to tie the game. Believing that it had taken too long and that LaCava was too close to McIlroy, McIlroy’s caddie, Harry Diamond, shouted for LaCava to step back. This led to LaCava Diamond waving off dismissively, which drew more words from the European side, including Shane Lowry.
“I was too busy giving vent to all the emotions that had been building up throughout the day,” Cantlay later said. “I didn’t get a good look at it.”
During the decisive game, both team captains surrounded the green.
“We are all competitors. We all want to win, but we want to do it right,” said European captain Luke Donald. “From what Rory told me, he asked Joe to move. It took a long time for him to move. It was a little daunting because he still had to putt. And so Rory was upset, and I understand that.”
After both McIlroy and his partner Matt Fitzpatrick missed their putts to equalize, Cantlay’s final birdie was the decisive point for the USA, reducing their deficit to five points on the second day, 10.5 to 5.5. LaCava then went to the entire European side to clear the air. McIlroy seemed to understand LaCava’s perspective and patted him on the shoulder a few times.
LaCava then told Johnson that the situation with McIlroy had been “defused.”
“They played a great match,” McIlroy told a pool reporter, “and I mean there were a few scenes on matchday 18 and that’s just fuel for tomorrow.”
Less than half an hour later, however, cameras spotted McIlroy in a heated conversation with Mackay, who was not directly involved in the incident on the final green.
McIlroy pointed at Mackay and he could be heard shouting: “This can’t be happening!” This can’t bloody be happening! This is a damn shame!”
McIlroy was restrained by Lowry and McIlroy’s wife Erica, then led into his backup car and driven away.
Lowry and Mackay then exchanged words for about ten seconds before parting ways.
McIlroy’s agent confirmed that the incident stemmed from what happened on the 18th green.
It was an explosive end to a tense day at Marco Simone, in which the Americans appeared to be on the verge of a historic deficit before staging a comeback in the afternoon four-ball session. The USA won the session 3-1 and now enters Sunday’s singles five points behind the home team.
The largest deficit ever overcome in Ryder Cup history is four points, most recently in 2012.