Rory McIlroy also ‘went at’ Brooks Koepka’s caddie, Ricky Elliot, after Ryder Cup car-park bust up, claims Fred Couples
Rory McIlroy reportedly raged against not one, but three Team USA caddies as his anger refused to cool on day two of the Ryder Cup, even after the Northern Irishman returned to the team hotel.
The Team Europe talisman lost his cool in Marco Simone’s car park after Saturday’s fourball session when he was seen shouting angrily at another American caddie, Jim ‘Bones’ MacKay, before being run over by team-mate Shane Lowry in a BMW 4×4 was bundled.
McIlroy’s outburst came after he was left fuming when LaCava, Cantlay’s caddie, stood in his line of sight twirling his cap while trying to line up a match-saving putt on the 18th.
The 34-year-old’s frustration was directed at MacKay, as he claimed Justin Thomas’ bagman was ‘just the first American I saw after coming out of the dressing room’.
McIlroy admitted that Tiger Woods’ caddy had been ‘in the wrong place at the wrong time’ and texted him the morning after to apologize.
Rory McIlroy’s Ryder Cup parking rampage reportedly continued at the team hotel
McIlroy had an altercation with LaCava on Saturday after taking off his cap and waving it in celebration
McIlroy also let loose on Ricky Elliot, an Irishman coming at Brooks Koepka
However, it appears Bones wasn’t the only American caddie to get an earful from the European leader, as he also let loose on Ricky Elliot, an Irishman looking for Brooks Koepka, according to Team USA vice-captain Fred Couples .
“He yelled at Bones,” Couples said via Golf.com, “which is disrespectful when his wife is standing feet away from him saying words that shouldn’t be said. Now I’m on Rory’s side too – because I love Rory McIlroy to death – but when you’re angry and you want to fight, you’re going to say things. Is that disrespectful?’
Couples added that Elliott told him that McIlroy “came toward me in the middle of the hotel foyer.”
Fans at a raucous Marco Simone had mocked Cantlay throughout the round by waving their hats in the air after an earlier report claimed he was not wearing a cap as a form of protest over not being paid to compete in the tournament – something he has adamantly denied , suggesting it was instead because he wanted to avoid tan lines ahead of his wedding on Monday.
When Cantlay sank a stunning 30-footer to put the US on the brink of winning his match with Wyndham Clark against McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, he responded by miming the doffing of a hat – while tasman LaCava lifted his spun joyfully in McIlroy’s field of vision.
“I asked him what was said,” Couples said on his radio show. “He said Rory looked at him and said, ‘Mooove.’ And he made sure the ooo lasted a little longer.
“And Joe replied, ‘Relax, Rory.’
More to follow.