Rory McIlroy Fury at Ryder Cup Still Causing Ripples as Schauffele’s Father Swears Off Future Events
Rory McIlroy’s fiery clash during last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome hasn’t been forgotten — and it’s now caused a serious stir within golfing circles again.
Stefan Schauffele, father of American pro Xander Schauffele, has openly declared he’ll be steering clear of this year’s tournament in New York, citing the scenes he witnessed in Rome and, earlier, at Whistling Straits.
Team Europe may have clinched a convincing 16½ to 11½ victory in 2023 — their first Ryder Cup win since 2018 — but the tension on and off the course made headlines far beyond the fairways. And at the centre of it all? Rory McIlroy.
McIlroy’s spat with Patrick Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, lit a fire under what had already been a heated competition. LaCava’s premature cap-waving celebration during a tense moment on the green didn’t sit well with McIlroy, who was still lining up a crucial putt alongside teammate Matt Fitzpatrick.
The Northern Irishman asked him to move. LaCava didn’t. Things escalated.
The pair exchanged words on the green — and that wasn’t the end of it. McIlroy was later caught on camera shouting and pointing angrily in the car park, reportedly at LaCava, before being physically pulled away by teammate Shane Lowry and bundled into a car. The footage did the rounds within minutes.
For Schauffele Sr., it was the last straw.
Speaking to The Times, he didn’t mince words: “Do I miss the PGA Tour? No. I’m not going to the Ryder Cup either. I’m afraid of what’s going to happen in New York. I was there [at Whistling Straits] when they called Shane Lowry’s wife a w** in front of him. I couldn’t believe my ears. Then I saw what happened in Rome.”
And further: “That was utterly disgusting claiming this money bullshit and Rory [McIlroy] behaved disgustingly in my opinion [when he confronted Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, in the car park]. It’s only going to get worse. It’s ruined my appetite for the Ryder Cup. It becomes unwatchable.”
McIlroy has since addressed the row in the Una Famiglia documentary, admitting the moment turned the match into something far more hostile.
“It turned from a match we thought we were going to win into a dog fight,” he said.
“Patrick’s caddie, Joe, stood there a little bit longer than he should have. I was trying to read my putt and he was in the way. I asked him to move and he didn’t take too kindly to that.”
He also reflected on the aftermath. “The fun and games sort of happened after that. As soon as I saw anyone with an American jersey on I went at them.”
The raw emotion McIlroy shows at team events is part of what makes him such a standout figure — but it’s also made him divisive. Some call it passion. Others see it as petulance.
Still, even with controversy never far behind him, McIlroy’s name remains right at the heart of modern golf’s biggest debates — especially when it comes to legacy.
Whether he can be mentioned in the same breath as icons like Faldo and Seve Ballesteros is a question many are still weighing. This breakdown of McIlroy’s Open 2025 outlook dives into exactly that argument.
For now, though, all eyes turn to New York. The Ryder Cup returns with fresh questions, a fired-up McIlroy, and a stage set for more drama.
Let’s hope it’s for the right reasons this time.
