FARMINGDALE, N.Y. — Joe LaCava has seen the televised highlights, or lowlights, from 2023 played over and over again, with him as the lead actor in a wild Ryder Cup drama set against the backdrop of Rome.
Patrick Cantlay’s caddie getting into it with the fans. Patrick Cantlay’s caddie getting into it with Rory McIlroy on the green and with Shane Lowry off it.
“Of course they’re going to show those highlights because they want to have more controversy, and you know how that goes,” LaCava told The Athletic during Wednesday’s practice for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black. “I’m not looking for any controversy this week.”
Tiger Woods’ former caddie poured gasoline on the Ryder Cup fire two years ago after Cantlay weathered a full Saturday of taunting from the Marco Simone crowd after a report claimed the American wasn’t wearing his U.S. team hat as a way of protesting the lack of player compensation in the event. (Cantlay denied the report again this week, repeating that his hat didn’t fit.)
After Cantlay played brilliantly down the stretch and drained the 43-footer on the 18th green to give his partnership with Xander Schauffele a victory over McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick, LaCava led a delegation of Americans who waved their caps at the fans. McIlroy thought the caddie’s mock celebration lasted too long and lingered too close to his putting line, setting off a series of profane verbal clashes between the two sides that ended when the Northern Irishman berated LaCava’s friend and former caddie Jim “Bones” Mackay in the club parking lot.
McIlroy later told the Irish Independent that “LaCava used to be a nice guy when he was caddying for Tiger” and had “turned into an ass” since working for Cantlay.
Asked if he’d shared any conversations with McIlroy about the incident, LaCava said, “When you say conversations, we haven’t been paired together that much, to be honest with you. We say hello to each other and stuff like that, but I’ve never had a lot of conversations (with Rory) to begin with.”
Joe LaCava, right, argues with Shane Lowry during the 2023 Ryder Cup. (Ross Kinnaird / Getty Images)
McIlroy has predicted another European conquest of an American team that’s now led by team captain Keegan Bradley, once a Bethpage regular as a player at St. John’s. LaCava, a member of the Caddie Hall of Fame, said there is a distinct difference between Bradley’s managerial style and that of his predecessor, Zach Johnson, who lost in Rome.
“Keegan’s brought a lot of enthusiasm; he’s a fiery kind of guy,” LaCava said. “That doesn’t mean Zach not being as fiery is a bad thing. I think Zach was great. I think if Zach was guilty of one thing, it was being too nice, just letting the guys do what they want, which is fine. That’s the kind of person he is. …Keegan is just a little more fiery, and he’s fired up the guys.”
A diehard Giants fan who wore a Saquon Barkley shirt under his Masters jumpsuit during Tiger’s epic victory at the 2019 Masters, LaCava said fans at Bethpage have been approaching him more about the Giants, new starting QB Jaxson Dart, and the New York Rangers than they have about the profane shouting matches he had with McIlroy and Lowry.
As for the Marco Simone crowd that Mackay, now an NBC analyst, described as brutal towards the American players in 2023, LaCava said, “I actually didn’t think it was that bad. Bones was away from us and closer to the crowd, so maybe he heard more comments. But the fans are supposed to be on their home team’s side, and that’s what you want. I enjoy going over there and playing matches like that. You can’t take it personally.”
(Top photo of Joe LaCava: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
