Luke Donald was reappointed European Ryder Cup captain Wednesday and applauded for his “calm, measured and meticulous” approach to the matches, but it was his fiery side that helped spur his team to victory in Rome.
Donald’s passion emerged following Saturday’s fourball session when Rory McIlroy confronted Patrick Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, while waiting for his car at Marco Simone.
Golf Channel footage showed McIlroy having to be restrained and yelling at LaCava after the Northern Irishman and the American caddie had an awkward exchange on the 18th green. In an interview last month, McIlroy explained what happened when the team returned to the hotel after the incident.
“We’re sitting there for about five minutes — the 12 players and vice-captains — and all the talk is the video,” McIlroy said. “Then Luke comes in and sits down and doesn’t acknowledge anyone. He then looks at me and I’m thinking ‘I could be in trouble here,’ but he goes, ‘Rory, I f—king loved that!’ All the boys started banging on the table. It was brilliant.”
Predictably, Donald was more measured in his retelling of the incident on Wednesday but he acknowledged McIlroy’s passion was exactly what his team needed.
“We see this in every Ryder Cup. There’s always passion that boils over. We have seen it many, many times in different situations, and this was no different. It’s an amazingly passionate event and these things happen,” Donald said. “[LaCava] realized he had probably overstepped the mark and apologized pretty quickly afterwards. But the fact that Rory was passionate about it just shows that he cares.”
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