Patrick Cantlay has had his say after Rory McIlroy labelled him a ‘d***’ in the aftermath of their dramatic Ryder Cup clash in September. McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick took on Cantlay and Wyndham Clark in a Ryder Cup match for the ages at Marco Simone.
The match was eventually won by the Americans, after Cantlay rolled in an impressive birdie putt on the 18th green. Tensions soon boiled over in the celebration though, as Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava celebrated in the way of McIlroy, who still had a putt for the half.
After missing the putt, McIlroy exchanged words with LaCava, before he later clashed with Justin Thomas’ caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay’ in the Marco Simone car park. Speaking in the weeks after, McIlroy did not hold back with his assessment of Cantlay in an interview with the Irish Independent.
Cantlay however has since played down the Northern Irishman’s ‘d***’ comment. “Yeah, I saw that [d*** comment],” the American told Golf.com: “I think it was taken out of context. And that’s kind of the world we live in, where the headline drives the story.
McIlroy also described his relationship with the FedEx Cup champion as ‘average at best’, despite having worked alongside Cantlay on the PGA Tour’s Policy Board prior to his shock resignation in November.
Again however, the American believes there is no issue when it comes to their relationship. “I think we’re both highly competitive and we’re both trying to be the absolute best,” he commented.
“I think we both admire that part of each other. As far as the Policy Board goes, we’ve worked really closely together and had a really good working relationship over my year on the board. Look, I talked to him post-Ryder Cup and, y’know, everything was cordial and all good.”
Cantlay was never too far away from controversy at this year’s Ryder Cup. On day two of the event Sky Sports reported that the American had led a split within the U.S. locker room, centering around his frustration with not being paid to compete in the three-day event.
It was then alleged that Cantlay opted to not wear a cap whilst competing in protest over the lack of payment to play. The American however claimed there was no issue within the U.S. camp in Rome. “There was zero divide,” Cantlay added.
“I think if you asked all the assistant captains, the captain, the players, they would tell you it’s one of the closest locker rooms they’ve been a part of.”
