Ryder Cup Saturday: Tensions Flare As Europe Maintains Big Lead

A wild day outside Rome includes dust-ups, the pay-for-play topic resurfacing and America needing the biggest comeback in match history to win. Plus, more NBC struggles and Sunday singles are set.

The Ryder Cup provides a public service.

It’s mostly about entertainment via golf ranging from magnificent, to ugly, to downright weird at times. The modern incarnation of this sportsmanship-driven goodwill exhibition often morphs into a tense slug-fest capable of exposing who has genuine passion for representing their country and teammates. It strips off the layers and tells us who excels at their job under extreme pressure and identifies the true sportsmen.

It also exposes some real dweebs.

Befitting the first Cup ever played outside Rome—where they’ve tussled a time or two over far graver matters—Saturday told us who plays with heart, soul, class and a respectful edge. It also made a few people crack. We witnessed respected figures lose control of their sensibilities and it sure livened up what is still a commanding lead for Europe heading to Sunday.

The dreaded topic of player pay blissfully put aside after a year of constant discussion of money, returned amidst another day of compelling match play and a few folks have some soul-searching to do after Saturday’s antics.

But gosh that marathon day of team match play proved as invigorating as a warm bowl rigatoni amatriciana topped off with another layer of pecorino.

While the matches remain very much in Europe’s control after a 3-1 foursomes win was countered by a USA’s 3-1 four-ball win, a strange combination of forces came together to give the Americans a dash of hope going into Sunday’s 12 singles. Captain Zach Johnson’s team must make history by winning 8 1/2 points to tie the matches and retain the Ryder Cup.

Following late theatrics that most adults might have missed while playing golf, tending to their roses, or watching college football, you might have missed the culmination of a wacky final three hours that even carried over into the parking lot.

To recap:

• After Europe again dominated in morning foursomes play, highlighted by a shocking (and historic) 9&7 disaster turned in by Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka losing to Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Aberg, the U.S. began clawing back in afternoon four-balls when a Twitter thread by Sky Sports golf correspondent Jamie Weir suggested the USA team room was “fractured”.

• Weir said USA’s Patrick Cantlay “believes players should be paid to participate in the Ryder Cup, and is demonstrating his frustration at not being paid by refusing to wear a team cap.”

• As the report filtered through the property, believed by plenty due to Cantlay’s less than perfect attendance at a team dinner, the flight over and the recent team scouting trip (citing a bachelor’s trip before he gets married this week in Italy), fans on site began to heckle Cantlay by taking off caps and waving them. Cantlay was locked in a tight match alongside Wyndham Clark against Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick.

• USA had secured two points with impressive wins by Sam Burns/Collin Morikawa and Brian Harman/Max Homa. Another point for Europe was coming from Justin Rose/Robert MacIntyre. The final match could then mean the difference between the US needing to win 9 points Sunday and 8 1/2, along with a mood morale boost to close out the day.

• As the fan heckling (and even clever singing) continued, Cantlay birdied the last three holes as Clark wilted under Ryder Cup pressure. The final long birdie putt came before McIlroy and Fitzpatrick had attempted their shorter putts. The American team did celebrate by waving their caps back to the crowd, and giving credence to the morale boost, one could be overheard saying “we’ve got a chance!” Stock Ryder Cup celebration stuff.

• There were signs and a few camera shots suggesting things were growing a bit strained out on the 18th green.

• NBC’s John Wood was on the ground and relayed this version of what came next: “I spoke to (Joe) and he said, ‘I was celebrating, I was waving my hat up in the air and getting the crowd jacked up.’ He was turning around, didn’t know Rory was coming back to his ball and got slightly in his way. Rory was fine with it, he kind of laughed. Then Shane (Lowry) came on to the green to tell him to get out of the way. Joe said, ‘We’re getting our butts kicked, I’m going to celebrate right now.’ Then Justin Rose got involved…it got a little chippy.”

• But video later surfaced showing that LaCava had hung around the green way too long and crossed a line by intervening in McIlroy’s routine, a huge no-no in the unofficial caddie etiquette handbook (and undoubtedly something non-golfers will scoff at if this manspat makes the local news). But it was shocking breach from the longtime caddie and normally respectful bagman in such a huge moment.

• Given McIlroy’s post-round rage, it’s easy to imagine some regrettable words were exchanged and that it was perceived as an attempt to interfere with the outcome even if it almost certainly it was nothing more than heat-of-the-moment man-bickering.

• This originally unseen portion of the back and forth, later aired on Golf Channel’s Live From and Sky’s wrap up show but did not make the live broadcasts. However, it became a focus of team clubhouse talk and spilled out when McIlroy was seen getting held back by teammate Shane Lowry as he argued with Justin Thomas caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay, good friend of LaCava, wore an expression suggesting he was trying to calm the situation and understood the problem.

•  Golf Channel’s Rex Hoggard reported that McIlroy said to Mackay in reference to LaCava’s extended barking, “That can’t happen! That can’t f---ing happen! That’s a f---ing disgrace!”

After the round, both captains addressed the issue, with Luke Donald clearly having been briefed and choosing his words carefully.

“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.”

After multiple questions attempting to pin Donald down on his “opinion” of what took place, he offered this.

“We always try and play with passion, play with energy, but play with respect. That will certainly be my message to the players.”

Zach Johnson seemed less aware of the details.

“I just think you see passion and complete emotion involved in the Ryder Cup,” he said after submitting his Sunday singles lineup. “You know, I don't think it's anything more than that or anything less than that.

Asked if LaCava had crossed a caddie etiquette line and why McIlroy was incensed, Johnson thought all had been mopped up.

“I don't know about that,” he said. “To my knowledge, it was diffused. I spoke with Joe after, and he said he talked to Rory and it was all good. That's all I know.”

Former Captain Paul McGinley chimed in on Golf Channel after talking to McIlroy’s camp and video showing LaCava not backing down while McIlroy prepared to putt.