Rory McIlroy “shared drinks and had a chat” with Joe LaCava after the Ryder Cup controversy between the two

The 2023 Ryder Cup may be history, but the incident between Rory McIlroy and Joe LaCava is still fresh in the minds of fans. It is unlikely to be forgotten any time soon, but according to McIlroy, he and LaCava have long since turned the page.

This week Rory McIlroy became an investor in the Alpine Formula 1 team. The Northern Irishman held a press conference to talk about it, but naturally echoes of the Ryder Cup came up. "We're all friends now," McIlroy said of the affair with Joe LaCava.

McIlroy and LaCava, 2023 Ryder Cup (Image via Getty).

This was part of Rory McIlroy's statement, according to BBC Sport:

"Things happen in the heat of the moment, tensions were high. Joe LaCava came into the European team room on the Sunday night and had a drink and a chat. I've had a great relationship with Joe over the years when he caddied for Tiger [Woods] and that wasn't going to change.

He added:

"For me, the incident happened, I purposely didn't want to meet anyone on the Sunday morning because I wanted what had happened to fuel me for that day. My whole focus was let's make sure Europe win the Ryder Cup and then we will sort all the other stuff out afterwards. And it's all fine. We're all friends now."

Rory McIlroy and Joe LaCava got into an altercation during the four-ball match at the 2023 Ryder Cup on Saturday afternoon. LaCava walked onto the green to celebrate his player Patrick Cantlay's near-certain match win while McIlroy was still adjusting his putting.

La Cava walked close to the Northern Irishman's putting line, which the latter interpreted as disrespectful. An exchange of words ensued between the two, which was witnessed by others present, including players. The matter did not escalate.

Rory McIlroy at the 2023 Ryder Cup

The Northern Irishman was the undisputed leader of the European team at the 2023 Ryder Cup. He was not only the team's top scorer, but also the tournament's top scorer with several impressive performances.

McIlroy celebrating with Tommy Fleetwood, 2023 Ryder Cup (Image via Getty).

McIlroy contributed to the European victory with four points in five matches. He only lost his second four-ball match against Patrick Cantlay and Wyndham Clark. The Northern Irishman teamed up with Matt Fitzpatrick.

He finished the rest of his matches as wins. He won in foursomes (paired with Tommy Fleetwood) against Cantlay and Xander Schauffele on Friday and Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth on Saturday. He also won in foursomes (with Fitzpatrick) over Schauffele and Collin Morikawa on Friday.

Finally, McIlroy easily won his singles match against Sam Burns on Sunday to seal his best Ryder Cup performance to date.

In seven Ryder Cup appearances, McIlroy has won five and contributed 18 points to the European team.