Highs and Lows from the 2023 Ryder Cup

Now that the dust has settled and the Europeans have won the Ryder Cup, it’s time to look back at some of the highs and lows of the event. The Ryder Cup always brings out “banter” from enthusiastic fans. This year, it also brought out some unexpected drama. Here is our list of highs and lows.

High

Team Europe rebounded from their historic 19-9 loss at Whistling Straits in the 2021 Ryder Cup with a dominating 16.5-11.5 win over Team USA.

Low

For the fifth consecutive time since 2014, the home team won by a margin of five points or more. The main issue is the Ryder Cup policy of granting home-team captains’ complete authority on course setup. Obviously, the home team sets up the course to the strengths of their players and the weaknesses of the opposing team players. This has contributed to the lopsided results and home team advantage.

High

Ryder Cup rookie, Max Homa led Team USA with 3.5 Ryder Cup points.

Low

“HatGate.” A tweet written by a reporter from UK based Sky Sports suggested that Patrick Cantlay was not wearing a hat in protest for not being paid to participate in the Ryder Cup. This sparked much of the drama that ensued during the event. Throughout Saturday afternoon, thousands of European fans sarcastically waved their caps at Cantlay chanting: "Caps off for your bank account."

According to Max Homa in a post event interview on the No Laying Up Podcast, the hat story was all bullsh-t. “It was so, so weird. One tweet, man. One tweet set all of Rome ablaze on that golf course.”

High

Patrick Cantlay birdied his last three holes in the final fourballs match Saturday, rolling in a 45-foot birdie putt over a ridge and into the cup to hand Rory McIlroy his first loss of the week. The remaining members of the U.S team joined in the hat madness, taking off their own hats and waving them back at the Europeans.

Low

Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava had removed his hat in a playful gesture after Cantlay holed his birdie putt on No. 18 Saturday.

According to European captain Luke Donald, “McIlroy politely asked Joe to move aside because he still had a putt for birdie to tie the match, which he wound up missing. He (LaCava) stood there and didn’t move for a while and continued to wave the hat, so I think Rory was upset about that.” Words were exchanged, LaCava got into a minor shouting match with Shane Lowry and unfortunately, this incident spilled into the parking lot later.

High

Justin Rose was awarded the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award, presented by Aon, for his exceptional performance in the 44th Ryder Cup.

The award is named after Jack Nicklaus and Tony Jacklin, who clashed in the first tie at the Ryder Cup in 1969. The Nicklaus-Jacklin Award is given to the player who represents the real spirit of the event.