Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy embrace during the 2018 Ryder Cup. | Photo by Gareth Fuller/Getty Images
Rory McIlroy discussed his Ryder Cup spat with Joe LaCava and revealed that Tiger Woods reached out about the situation.
Tiger Woods repeatedly reached out to Rory McIlroy after Saturday’s Ryder Cup spat, according to an exclusive report from the Irish Independent.
McIlroy, who helped lead Europe to victory at the 2023 Ryder Cup, became enraged Saturday evening, as cameras captured his anger in the parking lot after his round.
His frustrations stemmed from Joe LaCava’s celebrations. LaCava’s player, Patrick Cantlay, holed a 43-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to give the Americans a win. The longtime looper repeatedly waved his hat toward the European crowd, which is what the home fans did to Cantlay all day Saturday. The former UCLA Bruin reportedly refused to wear a hat at the Ryder Cup because he disagreed with the PGA of America’s player compensation program. He later refuted that report, but that did not stop fans from waving their hats incessantly toward Cantlay in an attempt to rattle him.
Consequently, LaCava tried to give it back to the European fans.
But the European team felt that LaCava crossed the line. He celebrated too close to McIlroy’s putting line. After all, the Northern Irishman still faced a putt to halve the match. McIlroy subsequently missed, which added fuel to his fiery anger.
Photo by Zac Goodwin/Getty Images
Rory McIlroy and Joe LaCava on the 18th green on Saturday at the 2023 Ryder Cup.
“I went back to my room, and there was a text from Joe LaCava: ‘Hey Rory, would love to meet up in the morning to clear the air.’ But I was tired and didn’t get back to him,” McIlroy revealed.
“There were also three texts and two missed calls from Tiger, because they’re obviously still close.
“I sent him a quick message: ‘It will be fine… Long day… just want to go to bed.’
Whether McIlroy and Woods discussed this situation in greater depth is unknown.
But McIlroy did bury the Ryder Cup beef with LaCava on Sunday after the end of the competition. The two conferred over a pint after Europe won soundly.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko for more golf coverage. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough too.
