REVEALED: Rory McIlroy’s furious Ryder Cup row with Joe LaCava began when the caddie told him to ‘relax’ on the green after the Europe star asked him to move, says USA vice-captain Fred Couples

Rory McIlroy’s furious row with Joe LaCava at the Ryder Cup started with the caddy telling him to ‘chill out’, Fred Couples has revealed.

Couple, the US vice-captain, was speaking on his SiriusXM PGA Tour Radio show when he relayed what McIlroy and LaCava said to each other on the 18th green in Rome.

“I asked (LaCava) what was said. He said Rory looked at him and said: ‘Mooove’. And he made the ‘ooo’ last a little longer. And Joe replied: ‘Relax, Rory,’ Couples said.

McIlroy and his teammates were incensed when LaCava, Patrick Cantlay’s caddy, celebrated in front of the Northern Irishman and entered his line of sight as he prepared for a crucial shot.

However, Egpare said: ‘I want someone to tell me where anything that has happened is disrespectful. I didn’t see it. Patrick shouted, which he doesn’t do very often and he flipped his fake cap.

Rory McIlroy argued with Patrick Cantlay’s caddy Joe LaCava on the 18th hole

McIlroy then launched into a furious outburst as he left Marco Simeone on the same day

“We were all at the front of the green,” Couples said. ‘No one moved. We just took our hats off and made circles with our hats.’

‘Joe LaCava was standing (on the green). I don’t think he moved two feet. People think he silenced Rory when he did that hand gesture,’ Couples continued.

“Little Harry Diamond, who we all love too, caddies for Rory, then he chimed in. So Joe said, “I don’t have time for you.”

McIlroy’s teammates Shane Lowry and Justin Rose, who came along to watch, also spoke to LaCava.

Shane Lowry and Fred Couples talk on the 18th green during Saturday’s Ryder Cup

Tension later spilled over into the car park as a furious McIlroy could be heard shouting: ‘It can’t happen, it can’t happen – it’s a f*****g shame’ at LaCava, with ‘ a security guard who was forced to step in before teammate Shane Lowry led him to a waiting BMW 4×4.

Another American caddy, Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, appeared to try to defuse the situation before a security guard tried to intervene. The Irishman Lowry then intervened and led a still seething McIlroy to the vehicle.

Fans spent the 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 taking part in the tournament – something which he later denied.