HATGATE Explained: Cantlay’s Cap, Rory’s RAGE

“Hatgate” turned the 2023 Ryder Cup at Marco Simone into more than just golf. What began as a missing cap on Patrick Cantlay’s head spiraled into chants from the galleries, a 43-foot dagger on 18, Joe LaCava vs. Rory McIlroy on the green, and a car-park confrontation that lit up the news cycle. This video explains exactly what happened, why it mattered, and how it fed into the long-running debate over Ryder Cup player compensation — including the post-Rome shift toward a $500,000 package per U.S. player for 2025 (charity + stipend).

If you care about the Ryder Cup’s soul — pride vs. pay — this is the full story.

What you’ll learn

Why a missing hat became the tournament’s 13th man

How Cantlay’s 43-footer flipped the vibe on Saturday

What really happened with LaCava & McIlroy on 18 — and in the car park

How media + memes turned “Hatgate” into the weekend’s headline

The result in Rome and the evolving money debate around the Ryder Cup

Chapters below.

Timestamps / Chapters

00:00 – Cold Open: Ryder Cup drama at its peak
00:25 – The Cup That Money Can’t Buy: Why the Ryder Cup is different
01:20 – Where’s The Hat, Pat?: Rumours, denials, and the spark
02:15 – The 13th Man: Fans, chants, and the hat-waving cauldron
03:10 – Cantlay’s 43-Foot Answer: The putt, the celebration, the line crossed
04:25 – Showdown in the Parking Lot: Emotions spill over
05:10 – Sunday Headlines: All hat, no golf (media frenzy)
05:50 – The Result & Legacy: Europe closes the door in Rome
06:38 – Money on the Mind: The compensation debate (and 2025 changes)
07:36 – Why It Matters: Pride, pressure, and symbols at the Ryder Cup

Total runtime: 8:08

Keywords / Tags (paste in your tags field)

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________________
The Ryder Cup is supposed to be about golf at its very best. Team against 
team. Europe against the United States. But at Marco Simone, the story 
wasn’t just about the golf. What started as a small detail about Patrick 
Cantlay’s headwear turned into a full-blown controversy. A controversy that played out on the 
course, in the media, and even in the car park. They called it “Hatgate.”
________________ The Cup That Money Can’t Buy
To understand why a missing cap could cause such a stir, you need to understand 
the Ryder Cup itself. Every two years, 12 of the best golfers from Europe face off 
against 12 of the best from the United States. It’s match play, it’s team golf, and it’s 
different from everything else in the sport. For one week, the world’s most individual athletes 
become part of something bigger. National pride, team loyalty, and sporting rivalry all collide.
And because there’s no prize money at stake, the Ryder Cup has always been framed as pure 
competition — golf for the sake of honour. That’s the tradition. And that’s what 
made the events in Rome so explosive. This edition ran from September 29 to 
October 1, 2023, and the atmosphere was intense from the start.
________________ Where’s The Hat, Pat?
Patrick Cantlay came into the 2023 Ryder Cup as one of Team USA’s 
most reliable players. Calm, consistent, and highly ranked, he was expected to be a steady 
presence in a team looking to defend its title. But from the very first day in Rome, something 
unusual caught people’s attention. While his teammates wore the traditional Team USA 
cap, Cantlay didn’t. His head was bare. At first, it seemed trivial — just a personal 
choice. But in the highly charged atmosphere of the Ryder Cup, small details rarely stay small.
Reports began to circulate that Cantlay’s refusal to wear the hat was deliberate. That he was 
making a statement. According to rumours, he was protesting the fact that players 
don’t get paid to compete in the Ryder Cup. If true, it cut right to the heart of the event. 
For decades, the Ryder Cup had been about pride, not money. To suggest otherwise — and to 
symbolise it by not wearing the team’s uniform — was enough to create a storm.
Cantlay never confirmed this. He denied it was about money and later put it simply: “The hat 
doesn’t fit… everyone knows that.” He’d had fit issues before, including at Whistling Straits. 
But by then, the narrative was already moving faster than any clarification could catch up.
And once the European fans picked up on it, the story of the missing cap 
became something much bigger. ________________
How a Missing Hat Became the 13th Man If the rumour had stayed confined 
to journalists and golf insiders, Hatgate might have fizzled out. But in Rome, the 
galleries were loud, passionate, and ready to seize on anything that could give Europe an edge.
It didn’t take long for the story of Cantlay’s missing hat to reach the fans. And 
once it did, they made it their own. Every time Cantlay stepped onto a tee 
box or a green, thousands of spectators waved their hats in the air. They sang 
songs about it. They chanted about it. What started as a rumour turned into a running 
motif that followed him around the course. Golf fans are usually seen as restrained. A 
ripple of applause here, a quiet cheer there. But in the Ryder Cup, the atmosphere is more like 
a football crowd. And in 2023, the hats became the perfect symbol for Europe’s supporters.
For them, Cantlay wasn’t just a player — he was the man without a cap. A 
target for chants and pressure. And the more they waved their hats, the 
more the story grew. By Saturday afternoon, Hatgate wasn’t just a distraction. It was the 
dominant talking point of the entire event. ________________
Cantlay’s 43-Foot Answer Saturday afternoon fourballs at the Ryder 
Cup are always tense. Every point is vital, every hole feels decisive. By the time 
Patrick Cantlay reached the 18th green, he and his partner were in a tight match.
The European fans had been relentless all day, waving their caps and jeering with 
every step. But on the final green, Cantlay delivered the moment of the tournament. 
He holed a ~43-foot birdie putt on 18 — the kind of putt that swings momentum. It sealed a 
1-up win in his and Wyndham Clark’s match against Rory Mcilroy and Matt Fitzpatrick.
The US crowd erupted, waving their hats higher than ever. Cantlay, instead of ignoring 
them, leaned into it. He raised his hand to his head and mimed tipping an imaginary 
cap. A small gesture, but a pointed one. At the same time, his caddie Joe LaCava 
entered the spotlight. As Cantlay celebrated, LaCava walked across the green, waving his 
own cap toward the crowd. In the process, he moved close to Rory McIlroy, who 
was still lining up a putt of his own. McIlroy asked him to move. LaCava 
didn’t. The two exchanged words, and suddenly the drama of a golf match had turned 
into a confrontation in the middle of the green. In the Ryder Cup’s long history, heated 
moments aren’t unusual. But rarely do they unfold so publicly, with so much emotion, and 
over something as seemingly small as a hat. ________________
Showdown in the Parking Lot The tension from the 18th green didn’t end when 
the match was over. As players left the course on Saturday evening, emotions were still raw.
Cameras outside the clubhouse caught a remarkable scene. Rory McIlroy, normally one of the sport’s 
calmest and most composed figures, was visibly furious. He pointed, shouted, and gestured — 
his anger directed at the U.S. caddie team, with Joe LaCava at the centre of it. Teammates, 
including Shane Lowry, stepped in and guided McIlroy away before things escalated further.
The images told their own story. Hatgate wasn’t just a sideshow anymore. It had spilled 
out beyond the ropes, beyond the matches, and into the heart of the competition.
For fans and commentators, the car park confrontation symbolised the Ryder Cup at its 
most intense. This wasn’t just banter, or playful rivalry. It was personal, it was heated, and it 
showed how much was at stake for both sides. The car park became the defining visual 
of Hatgate — a reminder that even in a sport built on calm precision, tempers 
can flare when pride is on the line. ________________
Sunday Headlines: All Hat, No Golf By Sunday morning, Hatgate was everywhere. 
Broadcasters led with it, newspapers splashed it across their pages, and social media filled 
with memes of hats flying through the air. For Team USA, it was an unwanted distraction. 
Instead of questions about form or strategy, the focus was entirely on Cantlay and the 
supposed protest. Was he really making a stand over money? Was he divided from his teammates?
Cantlay addressed the issue directly. He denied that it had anything to do with being paid, 
insisting the hats simply didn’t fit him properly. Other American players backed 
him up, insisting the team was united. The explanation did little to slow the story. 
For many fans and media, the idea of a player refusing to wear the team cap over money was too 
dramatic to ignore. It raised bigger questions about the Ryder Cup itself. Should players be 
compensated for one of golf’s most high-profile events? Or is the spirit of the Ryder Cup rooted 
in playing purely for pride and tradition? Here’s the key nuance: there’s no player 
prize money at the Ryder Cup. Historically, U.S. players receive charitable allocations, 
not direct pay — a point that often gets lost in the noise of the debate.
The discussion ran alongside the matches, and for many, overshadowed them.
________________ In the end, Hatgate didn’t decide the Ryder 
Cup. Europe were simply too strong, winning 16½–11½ in Rome and extending their dominance 
on home soil. While the golf produced its share of highlights — including Tommy Fleetwood’s 
clinching point on Sunday — it was the story of the missing cap that lingered longest.
For Patrick Cantlay, it became a defining image — fair or not. For Rory McIlroy, it 
revealed just how fiercely he felt about representing Europe. And for fans, it showed how 
even the smallest symbol can take on a life of its own when emotions are running high.
Hatgate also touched on a deeper issue: the question of money in the Ryder Cup. 
The debate didn’t end in Rome. Afterwards, the PGA of America approved a $500,000 
package per U.S. player for 2025 — a blend of charitable funds (around $300,000) and a 
stipend (around $200,000) — signalling that the compensation conversation is evolving.
But above all, Hatgate will be remembered as proof of the Ryder Cup’s unique intensity. In 
no other golf event could something as ordinary as a hat dominate headlines, spark chants, and 
lead to confrontations on and off the course. It was a reminder that the Ryder Cup is different. 
It’s raw, it’s emotional, and it’s bigger than the shots themselves.
________________