Rory McIlroy lost his mind in the parking lot after Day 2 of the Ryder Cup in Rome on Saturday. Although this year’s tournament was likely over before it began after a terrible showing by the United States on Friday, it has been one of the most contentious Ryder Cups in recent memory.
Brooks Koepka went after Jon Rahm over his infamous anger following the first day of competition. Nobody knew what he was talking about at first until a video resurfaced from back in June.
And then there is the Patrick Cantlay saga, which led to McIlroy’s tirade following the second day of competition. The gist is this:
Team USA struggled greatly on Day 1. A (likely false) report surfaced about Cantlay on Friday night.
The report said that Cantlay believes golfers should be compensated for playing in the Ryder Cup. It also claimed that Cantlay refused to wear the team’s hat on the course because of his belief.
Those two things reportedly caused a divide in the United States locker room. The divide supposedly caused the early struggles.
More than likely, there is no truth to the report. However, it did not stop the European fans from mocking Cantlay on Saturday by waving their hats when he was on the green.
And then, on the 18th green, Team USA flipped the script. Cantlay’s caddie and some of his teammates waved their hats back at the Europeans after Cantlay buried a putt to win his match against McIlroy.
If the United States was to have any hope for a comeback on Sunday, Cantlay needed to make the putt. He drained it.
Cantlay was not wearing a hat so he could not do the same. He tipped his imaginary cap instead.
McIlroy did not take kindly to the hat-waving gesture, which occurred right before he stepped up to the ball for his putt. He and Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, exchanged words on the green during a heated exchange.
Things escalated even further at the carpark after the match. McIlroy went ballistic to the point that Shane Lowry and legendary caddie ‘Bones’ had to step in to break things up.
It wasn’t entirely clear as to whom McIlroy was accosting, but it was likely LaCava. It was not Bones. Bones was the mediator.