Rory McIlroy MADE UP with Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava the day after their tense row at Ryder Cup, as the Team Europe golfer says ‘We’re all friends now’

• Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava clashed at the Ryder Cup
• The Team Europe golfer said they made up the day after and were now friends
• McIlroy won the Ryder Cup with Europe before investing in the Alpine F1 team

Rory McIlroy revealed that any bad feeling towards Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava at the Ryder Cup in Rome is all in the past. 

The Team Europe clashed with LaCava on the Saturday, which was believed to have started when the caddie told McIlroy to ‘relax’, while McIlroy took exception to LaCava celebrating a putt on the green as he lined up his own shot. 

Tensions later spilled over onto the car park, as a raging McIlroy was heard shouting ‘This can’t happen, this can’t happen – it’s a f*****g disgrace’ at LaCava, until a security guard and teammates were forced to step between them.

In an interview with the BBC, McIlroy said that any bad feeling had been left behind after talking it over the following day.

McIlroy said: ‘Things happen in the heat of the moment, tensions were high. Joe LaCava came into the European team room on the Sunday night and had a drink and a chat.

Rory McIlroy said any bad feeling towards Patrick Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava is in the past

The pair clashed on the course, and in the car park, during the Saturday at the Ryder Cup 

McIlroy’s involvement in the row became a dominant headline from Europe’s 16.5-11.5 win

‘I’ve had a great relationship with Joe over the years when he caddied for Tiger [Woods] and that wasn’t going to change.

‘For me, the incident happened, I purposely didn’t want to meet anyone on the Sunday morning because I wanted what had happened to fuel me for that day. My whole focus was let’s make sure Europe win the Ryder Cup and then we will sort all the other stuff out afterwards.

‘And it’s all fine. We’re all friends now.’

The row became one of the dominant headlines from Europe’s crushing 16.5-11.5 victory over the United States at Marco Simone in Rome.

Fans had spent the Saturday round taunting Cantlay by waving their hats in the air after an earlier report claimed he was not wearing a cap as a form of protest against not being paid for competing in the tournament – something he later denied. 

LaCava waved his hat around in response, but this in turn disrupted a McIlroy putt. 

The day after the incident, after Europe had sealed the trophy, an emotional McIlroy told BBC 5 Live: ‘Walking off the 18th yesterday was probably the angriest I’ve ever been in my career. I said it to the US guys, I thought it was disgraceful what went on and I made that clear.’ 

McIlroy was conducting an interview on his investment in the F1 team Alpine, where he also revealed his desire to own a stake of Manchester United, having turned down an opportunity with their rivals Leeds United.  

LaCava waved his cap around in response to taunts made by European fans to Cantlay

Ryder Cup star McIlroy bought into the Alpine F1 team before attending the US Grand Prix

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