Hatless Patrick Cantlay, His Caddie and Rory McIlroy Become the Talk of the Ryder Cup

The tension rose in Rome when an 18th-hole birdie from an American not wearing a hat set off a hat-waving celebration that wasn't kindly received.

ROME — A somewhat sleepy Ryder Cup saw plenty of last-hour drama, which continued after the final hole was played at Marco Simone Golf Club—and spilled over into the parking lot.

The main combatants? Rory McIlroy and Joe LaCava.

Yep, the longtime Ryder Cup player for Europe and the longtime caddie for Fred Couples, Tiger Woods and now Patrick Cantlay.

The short version: McIlroy was upset that LaCava, who was waving his cap in derision at the boisterous crowd along with other U.S. players and caddies following a long birdie putt by Cantlay at the 18th hole, did not move out of his line of sight when asked.

That led to a heated confrontation on the green and later in the parking lot, where video was captured of McIlroy calling it "a disgrace" as he yelled past U.S. caddie Jim "Bones" Mackay toward LaCava, with Irish golfer Shane Lowry stepping in front of McIlroy to try and calm him down.

A furious Rory McIlroy confronted a Team USA caddie in the car park, after he was spotted waving his cap in McIlroy's face when lining up his final putt on 18… 😳 pic.twitter.com/N0SaDg7AsS

— Sky Sports Golf (@SkySportsGolf) September 30, 2023

"I saw it unfold when Patrick made that putt, Joe was waving his hat," said European captain Luke Donald. "Obviously there was some hat-waving going on throughout the day from the crowd, not our players.

"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."

On the 18th green, LaCava heatedly talked back at McIlroy after he apparently admonished the caddie and video shows the two arguing—before McIlroy can again line up the putt. LaCava is seen waving off McIlroy.

Live From just showed this angle of LaCava on the 18th green in Rory’s kitchen as he prepared for his birdie putt. Definitely right in Rory’s way. pic.twitter.com/NcBAILHBcJ

— Shane Bacon (@shanebacon) September 30, 2023

Cantlay’s unlikely birdie putt from 43 feet—which McIlroy and later Matt Fitzpatrick tried to match unsuccessfully from shorter range—gave the Americans a 1-up victory in a hotly contested match that saw the U.S. team rally to earn three of four points in the fourball competition.

It also gave the U.S. team an outside shot during Sunday singles, although the task is immense in overcoming a 10½ to 5½ European advantage.

Cantlay was the subject of considerable speculation all day. An unconfirmed SkySports report earlier said that Cantlay’s reason for not wearing a hat during the Ryder Cup stemmed from a protest over players not being paid for the Ryder Cup.

The report then said there was a fracture among team players over the issue and that both he and Xander Schauffele were leading the protest.

Later, Schauffele’s father Stefan, who serves as Cantlay’s agent, told Sports Illustrated the report was not true and put the hat issue down to Cantlay trying to avoid tan lines in advance of his imminent wedding.

Afterward, Cantlay also denied it.

"The hat doesn't fit," Cantlay said. “It didn't fit at Whistling Straits, and didn't fit this week. Everyone knows that."

As the day went on, fans increasingly waved hats at the hatless Patrick Cantlay :: Adam Cairns/USA TODAY Sports

Asked why he didn’t wear it for the team photo, Cantlay said: "I was going to go no hat all week regardless, so I figured would I keep it consistent."

And Cantlay said he was unaware of any issues with McIlroy, other players and LaCava.

"I was too busy letting out all the emotion that built up over the day," he said. "I didn’t get a good look at it."

Cantlay would not address the issue of being paid to play in the Ryder Cup. "It’s not about that," he said. "It’s about Team USA and representing our country."

Regardless of how the hat situation went down, fans in the loud gallery used the opportunity to taunt Cantlay by continually waving their caps at him in derision. It became a thing throughout the golf course, and many of the players for the United States team caught on.

"I tried to enjoy it all day," Cantlay said. "Tried to use it as energy. And I think we did that."

Cantlay birdied the last three holes. The first at the 16th kept the match at 1 down. The next at the 17th tied it. And his long birdie putt at the 18th won it, the first lead of the day. McIlroy then missed from 24 feet, Fitzpatrick from 18.

Perfection when he needed it most.@Patrick_Cantlay comes up clutch for @RyderCupUSA 💪pic.twitter.com/3MKT7NUzg6 https://t.co/XYlShGsnbN

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 30, 2023

"What I saw on 18 was a phenomenal putt and a celebration by some of our guys, and I saw passion and all of what's great in the Ryder Cup come out," said U.S. captain Zach Johnson. "And to my knowledge, based on what I was told, that was diffused after the match, and so I'm told it's all good."

Max Homa, who won both of his matches Saturday, took some glee in giving it back to the fans after he chipped in on the back nine and also helped close out his match, having defeated with partner Brian Harman the team of Tommy Fleetwood and Nicolai Hojgaard.

"Just headless, but we get yelled at a lot," Homa said. “They are actually fairly friendly over here, but they are making fun of us all day. So it's just my enjoyment on 15, a guy—after I fatted my first chip, a guy just gave it to me for the 10 minutes I stood there, so I turned back around and said something back to him.

"It's just having fun. It's enjoyable. JT (Justin Thomas) told me at the Presidents Cup about how it's so fun being at these events because you can act like an idiot if you want to, and I acted like an idiot the few times I was lucky enough to have my ball go in the hole. Just comes out of you sometimes."

LaCava, who could not be reached, is a longtime respected caddie of more than 30 years who in May decided to go to work for Cantlay after Woods announced he would be out due to surgery. His other longtime association, Fred Couples, is a U.S. team assistant.

"Listen, we're all competitors," Donald said. "We all want to win, but we want to do it in the right way. You know, from what Rory told me, he did ask Joe to move. He took a long time to move. It was a little off-putting because he still had to putt. And so Rory got upset, and I understand that."