Rory McIlroy of the European team who won the 2023 Ryder Cup is delighted with the trophy./Reuters Yonhap News Patrick Cantlay takes off his hat and plays. It led to a hat gate, which led to an emotional fight between the players and cheering squad of both teams./Reuters Yonhap News Crowds crowded into the 18th hole of the Ryder Cup on the 2nd, when the last single match was held. Marco Simone Golf & Country Club in Rome, Italy (par 71)./Reuters Yonhap News
Unlike regular golf tournaments that emphasize manners and quietness, the Ryder Cup, a men’s golf competition between Europe and the United States, is full of blatant boos, crude arguments, and enthusiastic cheering as if at a soccer stadium. Therefore, it is popular even among those who do not know much about golf. Like neighborhood kids fighting, it can be childish, picking on the other person’s weak points, but sometimes it can exquisitely touch the essence. This year’s 44th Ryder Cup, which ended on the 2nd at the Marco Simone Golf & Country Club (par 71) in Rome, Italy, saw players, caddies, and cheering squads from both teams fighting over American player Patrick Cantlay taking off his hat while playing. The term ‘Hat-Gate’ emerged. Cantlay, who usually plays with a hat on the PGA Tour, played without a hat in this year’s Ryder Cup following the 2021 Ryder Cup. There was talk locally that the reason Cantlay did not wear a hat was to protest the fact that prize money is not given to players in the Ryder Cup, and this led to reports. Instead of receiving prize money, the Ryder Cup gives players $200,000 each to donate to an organization of their choice. When Cantlay said, “I didn’t wear the hat because it didn’t fit,” sports channel ESPN reported, “Before the competition, we measure the size of the players’ clothes and hats and distribute them to them.” Cantlay’s true intentions are unknown. However, since the advent of LIV Golf, which is supported by Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund, which pours astronomical amounts of money into sports without blinking, professional golf prize money has been growing like a snowball. We are living in a time where some are talking about the need for a new competition in the form of a competition between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf instead of the Ryder Cup.
Every time Cantlay played, the European crowd began to openly boo. Cantlay took off his hat and waved it when he stood on the teeing area, when he went on the green, and even before taking a shot. There were also novel taunts such as “Show me the money” and “Work at our factory, we pay you hourly wage.” However, a strange spark struck Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), a player representing Europe. McIlroy attaches great importance to the manners and principles of golf in addition to his outstanding skills, to the point where he is called the ‘second Tiger Woods.’ However, he is also the type of person who cannot tolerate things he considers unfair. In the four-ball game on the afternoon of the 30th, McIlroy paired up with Matt Fitzpatrick (England) and played against the U.S. team of Cantlay and Wyndham Clark. In this game, the United States was dragged, but Cantlay continued to make important putts at the end of the game to turn the game around. Then the American players, caddies, and American cheering squad took off their hats and cheered. This was a response to the ridicule of the European team cheering squad. But McIlroy’s putting still remained. This enthusiastic atmosphere did not subside even during McIlroy’s putting turn, when he could have tied the game with a short putt. In the end, McIlroy was affected by this and was unable to putt. An enraged McIlroy complained violently to Cantlay’s caddy, Joe LaCava (Tiger Woods’ caddy when he won the 2019 Masters), and attempted to storm into the U.S. team’s locker room after the game. McIlroy said, “I wanted to say that manners are important.”
In the end, the team with the strongest skills won the competition. Europe, led by the big three of Europe, McIlroy, John Lahm (Spain), and Viktor Hovland (Norway), overwhelmed the United States, which was dominated by world number one Scotty Scheffler (USA) and Cantlay. Europe won the single match on the final day, winning 6 points with 5 wins, 2 draws, and 5 losses, beating the United States with a total score of 16.5 to 11.5. Until the previous day, Europe had won 9 wins, 3 draws, and 4 losses in 8 foursome games and 8 foursome games, leading by a large margin of points of 10.5-5.5. Europe succeeded in regaining the Ryder Cup, which it lost to the United States during the 2021 Wisconsin tournament, and continued its undefeated history on its home course by winning seven tournaments held on European soil since the 1997 tournament in Spain. In terms of historical record, the United States is still ahead with 27 wins, 2 draws, and 15 losses. Europe, which had shown signs of winning back the Ryder Cup, pushed the United States from the beginning on the final day.
In Europe’s single match, Hovland defeated Collin Morikawa by 3 holes, and McIlroy (Northern Ireland) defeated Sam Burns by 3 holes. Jon Lahm (Spain) drew with Scheffler. Cantlay, the protagonist of hat gate, defeated Justin Rose (England).
2023-10-01 23:54:09
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