Tag: 2023 Ryder Cup

Team Europe, fueled by a hat controversy, wins 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome

The final tally in Rome wasn’t as close as it felt, at times, on Sunday.

Team USA tried to rally around a hat controversy that was fueled by a parking-lot feud, but the spark proved too little too late. Team Europe rode the momentum of a Friday morning foursomes sweep at the first Ryder Cup in Rome all the way to Sunday, extending a decades-long tradition of winning on home soil.

Viktor Hovland, one of two players to play all five matches for Team Europe, put the first point on the board for captain Luke Donald’s team at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club. Europe reached 14 ½ points to win back the cup after Tommy Fleetwood drove the green on the drivable par-4 16th and Rickie Fowler hit it in the water. After Fleetwood knocked his eagle putt to 2 feet, 8 inches, Fowler conceded the birdie putt to give Europe the half point needed to win.

The final tally in Rome wasn’t as close as it felt, at times, on Sunday with Europe winning, 16 ½ to 11 ½.

The U.S. last won a Ryder Cup overseas in 1993.

A Saturday report from SkySports Jamie Weir insinuated that Patrick Cantlay’s refusal to wear a team hat centered around his desire for Ryder Cup players to get paid. European fans reacted by waving their hats at the American player all weekend. The whole scene culminated on Saturday evening with Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, waving his hat after Cantlay drained a match-winning putt to give the U.S. team life heading into singles.

Rory McIlroy took issue with LaCava’s antics getting in his way on the green. His frustrations boiled over in the parking lot when he had to be restrained while talking to caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay.

After a loss two years ago at Whistling Straits brought McIlroy to tears, he won four points in Rome. McIlroy told NBC after winning his singles match that he used the incident on the 18th green and the parking lot Saturday night to his advantage.

“It was a bit of a deflating finish last night,” said McIlroy, “but I think what transpired on that last green gave us a little fire in our bellies to go out and get it done today.”

Cantlay, who improved his singles record in team play to 4-0-0 after a 2-and-1 victory over Justin Rose, told NBC after singles play that the report about Ryder Cup money and division in the U.S. team room was totally false.

“It couldn’t be further from the truth,” said Cantlay. “There hasn’t been one word of that all week. The U.S. team has been close all week.”

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2023 Ryder Cup Sunday singles results: Team Europe defeats Team USA despite late charge

Check out the Sunday singles match results from the 2023 Ryder Cup, where the session was split 5-5-2.

It’s been all Team Europe all week long in Italy at the 2023 Ryder Cup.

The Europeans, led by Luke Donald, entered Sunday singles on the final day of play at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club near Rome with a 10½-5½ advantage over Team USA and will need just four points to reclaim the Cup. On the flip side, Zach Johnson’s American side will need to complete the biggest comeback in the history of the biennial event and claim 8½ points to retain the Cup.

Here’s a breakdown of each of the 12 Sunday singles matches at the 2023 Ryder Cup, updated as they finish.

FINAL SCORE: Team Europe 16½, Team USA 11½

Sunday singles results

Rory McIlroy denies report he met with caddie Joe LaCava after altercation at 2023 Ryder Cup

“I haven’t met Joe,” said McIlroy, refuting an earlier Golf Channel report.

One of the biggest stories of the 2023 Ryder Cup has been the drama that played out on the 18th green on Saturday night during the fourballs session involving Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava.

The incident then spilled over to the parking lot at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club, where a visibly heated McIlroy needed to be restrained by teammate Shane Lowry as American caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay approached to discuss what happened.

Before Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm began the opening match of Sunday singles, Golf Channel reported that McIlroy and LaCava had mended fences after the dust-up on the 18th green. Steve Sands reported LaCava reached out to McIlroy’s camp on the car ride home from the course and texted the group, “I love you guys and respect all of you.”

McIlroy’s team reportedly said they felt the same way, which led to LaCava asking for a face-to-face meeting with McIlroy on Sunday morning. According to Sands, that brief meeting happened, and “everything’s been diffused.”

Well, McIlroy begs to differ. After his 3-and-1 singles victory over Sam Burns, Golf Channel’s Cara Banks asked McIlroy about the meeting with LaCava, and the four-time major champion said it didn’t happen.

“I haven’t met Joe,” said McIlroy, shaking his head.

“I was focused. I was very focused,” he said of his mindset entering the final match. “I let it fuel me, I didn’t let it take away from what’s been a fantastic week. I used that little incident last night to my advantage.”

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Here’s why Rickie Fowler was benched on Saturday at the 2023 Ryder Cup

“It was a situation where our matchups felt it was best to go this direction,” said captain Zach Johnson.

ROME – Why was Rickie Fowler benched on Saturday?

The 34-year-old American, who is playing in his fifth Ryder Cup, didn’t play in either session on Saturday at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy. That followed sitting the afternoon fourballs session on Friday, too.

Fowler has been rumored to be one of the players dealing with a bug that U.S. Captain Zach Johnson said has been going through his team’s locker room. Golf Channel’s Todd Lewis reported that Fowler had a sinus infection. But Johnson said it wasn’t an illness but rather a captain’s decision that was the reason that Fowler sat all day on Saturday.

MORE: Everything you need to know for the Ryder Cup

“It was a situation where our matchups felt it was best to go this direction,” Johnson said. “Rickie is the consummate professional and team player. We had an embrace that I’ll never forget and a smile afterward. And you know what, it’s hard. I want to play all 12 guys every match — every session, excuse me. That goes without saying. So it was nothing more than that. He is a dear, dear, dear friend. And knowing him, it’s probably motivational.”

Fowler, who teamed with Collin Morikawa in a foursomes match on Friday, is set to face Tommy Fleetwood in singles in Match 11.

The U.S. enters the final day trailing 10½ – 5½.

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2023 Ryder Cup live updates: Team USA vs. Team Europe at Marco Simone in Italy

Live updates from the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Italy.

It’s all over in Rome.

The 44th Ryder Cup came to an end Sunday when Rickie Fowler conceded a  putt to Tommy Fleetwod, handing Team Europe its 15th point, The Euros needed 14 ½ to reclaim the Cup they lost two years in the U.S.

The Europeans held a 5-point advantage, leading 10½-5½, heading into the Sunday singles matches.

The host course, Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, is a public-access layout with tee times available on the course’s website starting at 190 Euros for international players. The course played to a par 71 with the scorecard showing 7,181 yards.

The Americans, captained by Zach Johnson, tried to win on foreign soil for the first time since 1993 but that streak will continue. Team Europe rode an influx of young talent for captain Luke Donald.

For more info on players, scoring, schedule and course data, check out our Ryder Cup hub.

Hats off to Patrick Cantlay for breathing life into a sleepy Ryder Cup

“I told Wyndham when we were going to the first tee today that we were going to use all the energy out there as fuel, and we did.”

ROME – Hats off to Patrick Cantlay.

He breathed some much-needed life into the 44th Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club by holing a hat trick of putts on the final three holes to flip his fourballs match and give the U.S. a glimmer of hope that they could mount a comeback in Sunday singles and retain the Cup.

It was as cold-blooded as Ian Poulter going into Poulter-geist mode late on Saturday in 2012 and inspiring the Europeans to one of the great comebacks at Medinah.

But that only scratches the surface of Cantlay’s day. While he was busy taking on Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton in the morning, Sky Sports’s Jamie Weir posted on social media that among other things, Cantlay was behind a rift in the U.S. locker room and he “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.” He credited unnamed sources.

Cantlay wears a hat on the PGA Tour and is paid handsomely to do so, previously by the investment bank Goldman Sachs and currently by DeWalt, the tool maker. When asked about why he wasn’t wearing a hat this week, Cantlay explained, “The hat doesn’t fit. It didn’t fit at Whistling Straits, and didn’t fit this week. Everyone knows that.”

That may be and plenty of golfers, including Rory McIlroy, have gone hatless in the Ryder Cup before. Still I tend to agree with ESPN’s Michael Collins, who tweeted that Cantlay saying he can’t find a hat that fits – despite the players being measured several months ahead of time for team uniforms – “is like a fat guy in Whole Foods saying, I can’t find the vegetables.”

Ryder Cup: Tournament hub | Photos

But to think Cantlay doesn’t want to win the Ryder Cup is ludicrous. This is the guy who told his teammates at Whistling Straits, let’s step on their neck and score 20 points.

In any event, word spread quickly in the grandstands, and fans began taunting Cantlay, who was paired with American Wyndham Clark in a fourballs match against McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick. At the sixth green, fans shouted at Cantlay, “Show me the money,” and by the 16th they were waving their hats at the hatless wonder.

2023 Ryder Cup
Spectators shake their hats and caps at Patrick Cantlay of Team United States (not pictured) on the 10th hole during the Saturday afternoon fourball matches of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club on September 30, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

“I’ve never had so many standing ovations going to tee boxes and greens. I thought it was fantastic,” Cantlay said. “You know, I told Wyndham when we were going to the first tee today that we were going to use all the energy out there as fuel, and we did.”

If there is a fracture in the U.S. locker room it didn’t look that way when Cantlay pantomimed tipping his cap and his teammates huddled around the green responded by doffing their caps too.

“Y’all just don’t quit, do ya,” American Brian Harman said as Cantlay was bombarded with Hat-Gate questions during a press conference afterward. “We love each other, man. It’s been the most fun getting to hang out with these boys. Whatever happens tomorrow, I mean, love you boys.”

“Love you too, Harm,” Cantlay said.

“Think you’re putting too much into the hat,” Clark said.

“They said it on Twitter, though, so it has to be,” Harman quipped.

“If it’s on Twitter, it’s true. Verified,” Cantlay added.

2023 Ryder Cup
Caddie, Joe LaCava waves his hat as he celebrates with Patrick Cantlay of Team United States on the 18th green during the Saturday afternoon fourball matches of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf Club on September 30, 2023 in Rome, Italy. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

But the hat-waving had one more unforeseen consequence on Saturday. Cantlay’s caddie, veteran Joe LaCava, who has worked for Fred Couples and Tiger Woods during a distinguished 30+-year career, had heard enough during the day and waved his hat around in celebration on the 18th green. It bothered McIlroy, who was lining up a putt to try to tie the match. Tensions flared. Things escalated quickly from getting chippy to getting personal and those words spilled over from the golf course to the parking lot with McIlroy needing to be restrained by Shane Lowry and helped into his courtesy car back to the team hotel. The Ryder Cup finally got interesting – all because of Cantlay playing without a hat.

“He might come out with a hat tomorrow with a big ol’ middle finger on it for all we know,” NBC’s Paul Azinger.

If all the Americans don’t come out Sunday and play hatless in unity with Cantlay, then what are we even doing here?

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2023 Ryder Cup Sunday singles matches, tee times feature must-watch showdowns

Set your alarms because you won’t want to miss these final matches.

Set your alarms, folks. You don’t want to miss these final 12 matches of the 2023 Ryder Cup.

European captain Luke Donald and American captain Zach Johnson announced their picks for the 12 Sunday singles matches and a handful are appointment television, no matter the time.

Team Europe holds a 10½-5½ lead after the first four sessions, but the momentum appears to have swung back toward the U.S. after the Americans claimed Saturday fourballs, 3-1. The Europeans need four points to win the Cup, while the U.S. needs at least 8½ to retain.

Check out who’s playing who in the final 12 singles matches of the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.

Ryder Cup: Tournament hub | Photos

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Photos and video of controversy on 18th green after Patrick Cantlay’s match-winning putt at 2023 Ryder Cup

Things are getting chippy in Rome.

The final match of Saturday afternoon’s fourballs session got a bit heated on No. 18 after Patrick Cantlay drained what would become a match-winning birdie putt thanks to a few misses from Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick.

After European fans had been waving their hats in Cantlay’s direction all afternoon after reports surfaced that he’s not wearing a hat this week because he’s not being paid to be there, members of Team USA put their hats in the air when the putt dropped. Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, and Wyndham Clark’s caddie also put their hats in the air. Shane Lowry and LaCava later shared some words with each other.

McIlroy was caught on video in the parking lot yelling at Jim “Bones” MacKay about the situation.

Here are several photos of the altercation on Marco Simone Golf and Country Club’s final hole.

Europe inches closer to winning 2023 Ryder Cup, but U.S. wins Saturday fourballs session to maintain glimmer of hope

The Americans have some work to do Sunday to retain the Cup.

ROME – For the first time at the 44th Ryder Cup, the U.S. won a session at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club.

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After winning the Saturday afternoon fourballs 3-1, the U.S. trails 10 ½ to 5 ½ and will need to erase the largest deficit in Ryder Cup history if it is going to retain the Cup.

But we’re saying there’s a chance, especially after Patrick Cantlay birdied the final two holes, including a 30-foot birdie putt at 18, to flip his match.

“Hopefully have a ray of light and we can build on this session and try and pull off a big victory tomorrow,” Cantlay said.

Two years ago, the U.S. led 11-5 at Whistling Straits before cruising to a 19-9 victory. No team has rallied from more than a 10-6 deficit, but the U.S. only needs to reach 14 points to retain the Cup. In both 1999 and 2012, the winning side earned 8 ½ points in Sunday singles.

The U.S. showed some life winning the first two matches, but the Euros bounced back to win the third match and inch closer to extending the U.S. losing streak on European soil, which dates to 1993. It looked as if it would be a split of the session. That is until Cantlay’s heroics.

“Feels like we have momentum and we go kind of into the locker room laughing a little bit which just feels good,” Max Homa said.

Here’s a recap of all four matches.

Ryder Cup: Tournament hub | Photos | Fans

Team USA players, caddies wave hats at fans after Patrick Cantlay buries putt to win 2023 Ryder Cup match

The Ryder Cup is getting real chippy ahead of the final 12 Sunday singles matches.

Things are getting a little chippy in Rome — and it’s the best.

A report surfaced Patrick Cantlay is not wearing a hat at the 2023 Ryder Cup because of an issue with players being paid, though Cantlay has since responded to the “Hat Gate” rumors, simply stating the team hat “just doesn’t fit.” He also mentioned that he didn’t wear one at Whistling Straits in 2021 because of the same issue.

Fans at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club heard the rumors, too, and started to taunt Cantlay all Saturday afternoon, waving their hats at him whenever he was on a green or tee box.

Cantlay was paired with Wyndham Clark during the last fourballs session of the competition, taking on Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick in the final match of the day.

After burying a short birdie effort on the par-3 17th to tie up the match, Cantlay raced his green-side chip 43 feet by the hole at the par-5 closer.

But his nickname isn’t “Patty Ice” for nothing.

Cantlay buried the putt and claimed the American’s third match win of the session. After the putt went in, members of Team USA (as well as a few caddies) took their hats off and started waving them to Cantlay, and some waved them at the crowd.

Joe LaCava, Cantlay’s caddie, also got in on the action. LaCava exchanged words with Shane Lowry, who was watching the match from off the green, and they didn’t seem to be pleasantries. (The tweet says Rory, but it was Lowry.)

The Europeans lead 10½-5½ heading into Sunday, leaving the smallest of windows open for the Americans as they pursue an unlikely comeback.

After play was done for the day, McIlroy and Justin Thomas’ caddie, Jim “Bones” Mackay, had a verbal altercation while waiting for shuttles.

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