“He was yelling at Bones” - Fred Couples accuses Rory Mcllroy of ‘disrespecting’ Joe LaCava in front of his wife

Rory McIlroy was never so angry in his life as he was while at the 2023 Ryder Cup's Saturday four-ball match. He first quarrelled with Joe LaCava, the caddie for Patrick Cantlay, on the 18th hole at the Marco Simone Golf Course and then yelled at Jim 'Bones' Mackay, the caddie for Justin Thomas, in the parking lot before erupting at Brooks Koepka's caddie in the hotel lobby.

In his most recent PGA Tour radio broadcast, Fred Couples, the US Team's vice-captain, talked about the historic event. He claimed that McIlroy's outburst at Bones in the parking lot, where the golfer shouted at the caddie in front of his wife, was extremely rude. Speaking about the incident, Couples said:

“He was yelling at Bones, which is disrespectful with his wife standing a foot from him saying words that shouldn’t be said."

Patrick Cantlay's stunning putt during the Saturday four-ball round moved him one step closer to the victory. When McIlroy was about to take his final shot, Cantlay's caddie LaCava reportedly started to wave his hat in the air in excitement and reportedly moved into his line of sight. McIlroy asked him to move but they then had a small argument.

The Irish golfer missed the putt, giving Cantlay and teammate Wyndham Clark a one-up victory. Frustrated with his defeat, McIlroy saw Mackay in the parking lot and he shouted at him before leaving the venue. Later on, though, McIlroy recognized his mistake and apologized to Mackay by text. Mcllroy also spoke with LaCava and resolved the matter.

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Fred Couples explained what actually happened between Joe LaCava and Rory McIlroy

In the SiriusXM PGA Tour radio show, Couples also explained what actually happened between Rory McIlroy and Joe LaCava. The American golfer revealed that he had a chat with LaCava and the caddie told him about the issue.

Speaking about the Ryder Cup incident, Couples said:

"People think he (LaCava) shushed Rory when he did that hand gesture. Little Harry Diamond, who we all love, too, chimed in. So Joe said, ‘I don’t have time for you.’ Then Joe turned to get out of the way. And Shane Lowry and Thomas Bjorn were screaming some things at him, which is fine. I don’t have any problem with Shane Lowry or Thomas Bjorn - they’re protecting the number one player on their team."

"But no one did anything wrong. He [LaCava] didn’t stand over him. It wouldn’t be a 15-yard penalty in college football for taunting. He said he was 6 feet from him. Was Joe right? Probably not. Did anyone disrespect the European team?”

The 2023 Ryder Cup concluded with a finale on Sunday with Team Europe winning the tournament by 16.5-11.5.