Hat Gate - What Has Happened Since Rory McIlroy's Incident With Cantlay’s Caddie Joe LaCava

At the 2024 US Open, Rory McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay are paired together in the penultimate group for the first time since their infamous incident at the 2023 Ryder Cup.

The 'Hat Gate' incident occurred during the second day of the famous team event and, since then, there has still been friction between both McIlroy and Cantlay, which gives the pairing that little more spice at Pinehurst No.2. 

We have timelined what actually happened between McIlroy and Cantlay, as the duo tee off on Sunday at 2:10pm ET (7:10pm BST) at the US Open.

30th September 2023 - Morning

A report by Sky Sports states that there is a fracture in the US Ryder Cup camp driven by a desire from certain players to be paid, with Cantlay refusing to wear a Team USA cap.

Sky Sports' Jamie Weir reported that the American wasn't wearing a cap to "demonstrate his frustration" at not being paid, but the journalist then later reported that Cantlay's agent told him it was because he couldn't find a fit he was comfortable with.

30th September 2023 - Afternoon

After hours of ridicule, including European supporters waving their caps at Marco Simone, Cantlay and Wyndham Clark defeat McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick in the Saturday afternoon fourballs session, with Cantlay holing some incredible putts down the stretch for the victory.

Having a putt to halve the match, McIlroy voices anger towards Cantlay's caddie, LaCava, who seems to continue celebrating for too long. McIlroy misses his birdie putt and, in the aftermath, European player, Shane Lowry, and LaCava are split up by the representative parties.

It's not done there, though, as McIlroy is then seen arguing in the parking lot, this time with Justin Thomas' caddie, Jim 'Bones' Mackay. Eventually, McIlroy is put into his car by Lowry, as they all leave the golf course.

1st October 2023

Following the incident on Saturday evening, McIlroy apologizes to Mackay for his outburst, whilst LaCava reportedly apologizes to McIlroy, with Rory later stating LaCava had texted him to clear the air.

Eventually, Europe went on to win the Ryder Cup 16.5 - 11.5, with Cantlay claiming a 2&1 victory, whilst McIlroy was Europe's top point scorer in the event after dismantling Sam Burns 3&1 on Sunday. After the tournament, Cantlay claimed that the report which stated he was leading a split in a “fractured” US Ryder Cup team are “complete lies” and “totally unfounded”.

12th November 2023

Now that the dust has settled, McIlroy gives an interview to the Irish Independent about the incident at the Ryder Cup, with the multiple-time Major winner revealing Tiger Woods had even messaged him following the debacle.

In the interview, McIlroy admits that he doesn’t have a great relationship with Cantlay, stating: "Here’s what angered me. My relationship with Cantlay is average at best. We don’t have a ton in common and see the world quite differently. But when I saw he was getting stick on the 17th and 18th greens, I tried to quiet the crowd for him. I don’t think Fitz and I were afforded the same opportunity to try and hole those putts to halve the match 

“I shook Joe’s hand, and Patrick’s hand. Those three putts he made on 16, 17 and 18 were fantastic, and under that pressure, to give your team a glimmer of hope going into Sunday was big balls. So all respect to him."

Later on in the interview with Paul Kimmage, McIlroy details what happened when he got back to the hotel on that Saturday night, claiming that he saw Ricky Elliott, Brooks Koepka's caddie, and coach Claude Harmon III.

"I start having a go at them," McIlroy explains, with the Northern Irishman adding "'Joe LaCava used to be a nice guy when he was caddying for Tiger and now he’s caddying for that d**k (Cantlay) he’s turned into an a*s...’ I still wasn’t in a great headspace."

31st December 2023

In an exclusive interview with Golf.com, Cantlay explains that McIlroy's comments were taken out of context, with the American stating: "I saw that. I think it was taken out of context. And that’s kind of the world we live in, where the headline drives the story."

Cantlay also speaks about the ongoing involvement of the PGA Tour and PIF merger that was announced in June 2023. Both the 32-year-old and McIlroy were on the PGA Tour's Policy Board but, in November of that year, McIlroy stepped down from it, with Cantlay stating: “I think we’re both highly competitive and we’re both trying to be the absolute best".

He adds "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".

April/May 2024

At the end of April, after being off the board for six months, McIlroy opened up about a potential return onto it, with The Guardian reporting that the four-time Major winner had been asked by Webb Simpson to return. 

Speaking at the time, the 35-year-old stated: "I think I can be helpful. I don't think there's been much progress made in the last eight months, and I was hopeful that there would be. I think I could be helpful to the process. But only if people want me involved, I guess. When Webb and I talked and he talked about potentially coming off the board, I said, 'look, if it was something that other people wanted, I would gladly take that seat,' and that was the conversation that we had".

Two weeks later, though, McIlroy rules out a return, claiming that: "There's been a lot of conversations. Sort of reminded me partly why I didn't. So yeah, I think it just, it got pretty complicated and pretty messy, and I think with the way it happened, I think it opened up some old wounds and scar tissue from things that have happened before. I think there was a subset of people on the board that were maybe uncomfortable with me coming back on for some reason". According to reports, Cantlay is one of those against McIlroy returning...

8th May 2024

According to an anonymous source that spoke to Golfweek's Adam Schupak, there are calls for McIlroy to return to the board, with one tournament director claiming McIlroy realized he made a big mistake in stepping down.

In the report, the anonymous director says: “We need Rory back on the board. Had he stayed on he could’ve neutered Cantlay. He’s the only one with the power to neuter Cantlay. We need Rory to try to keep Cantlay from ruining the Tour. Webb is too nice. A lot of people at the Tour at a very high level are thrilled that Rory is going back on the board for that reason.”

15th June 2024

Both Cantlay and McIlroy share the lead of the US Open after the first round, with both firing five-under 65s. After the next two days, the duo are then paired together going into the final round on Sunday.

When asked about the pairing on Saturday evening, Cantlay responds "yeah, should be great," before adding "to be just -- I don't know what Bryson is finishing up at, but to be in second or T-second, I'm in a great spot come tomorrow. It's a golf course that's a challenge. If you can make some birdies, you can gain a lot of ground. I'm really happy with how I played today, and I'm looking forward to tomorrow".