Rory McIlroy opens up on Ryder Cup caddie drama that led to car park bust-up

Rory McIlroy was involved in a heated clash with two Team USA caddies at the Ryder Cup in Rome, even sees Northern Ireland involved in parking crisis

Rory McIlroy has opened up about his row with Patrick Cantlay’s caddy Jim LaCava after the pair became involved in a heated argument fire at the Ryder Cup in Rome.

McIlroy played a key role in Europe’s 16.5-11.5 victory over their American opponents, earning more points than any other player after winning four of five matches. His only loss of the week came on Saturday in four balls, after he and Matt Fitzpatrick lost to Cantlay and Wyndham Clark.

Day two’s final match ended in dramatic fashion, after Cantlay – who had been at the center of an alleged dispute on the American side – made the winning putt on 18.

One Sky Sports reports that The American caused division in the American locker room because he was not paid to play. It was claimed in protest that he refused to play with the cap on, which was quickly denied by Cantlay and his American teammates.

After making a stunning birdie putt on the final hole, everyone on Zach Johnson’s team took off their hats and waved them in the air with mockery as they heard the report. This included his caddy LaCava, but the bag carrier appeared to go too far in his celebration.

LaCava was seen wandering the 18th green, leading his celebration by waving his hat at McIlroy, who still had one putt to cut the hole in half. Unsurprisingly, the four-time major champion was not pleased with the cadet’s antics, and the two men exchanged heated words about it. Things then changed a few minutes later, when McIlroy was involved in another cadet clash, this time with Justin Thomas’s running mate Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay.

Angry Northern Irish man was put away by Shane Lowry as he expressed his emotions in the car park. Nearly a month later, McIlroy opened up about the play and admitted it only helped him secure the victory 24 hours later.

Asked if he regrets the controversy, he told Sky Sports:
“No, not at all. I feel like what happened in the car park has galvanized the team and It benefits us.” It was later reported that McIlroy met with LaCava on Sunday morning to smooth things over, but this was denied by the Europeans.

“It happened. I don’t want to see anyone on Sunday morning because I want what happens to motivate me and my goal is to make sure Europe wins the Ryder Cup,” he said more. “And then we’ll figure out everything else. Everything’s fine. We’re all friends.”