Rory McIlroy vs Americans Bad Blood Rekindled Amid Ohio State, Michigan Brawl by 6x PGA Tour Winner

Apart from a good game in team championships, what is the key ingredient of a furious match? The competitive spitir. Well, that is what happens at the latest football match. Michigan grabbed their fourth victory in a row, but the celebrations were furious. Players from both teams erupted into a brawl at midfield. And that was not all; the Michigan players even tried to storm at their opponent to try and prevent them from planting their flags.

Right when things settled down, the Ohio State defensive end Jack Sawyer ran towards one of the Michigan players and ripped the flag off the pole, and that set off another round of fighting. It went so wild that the staff and security had to come in to calm things down. They used pepper spray to separate the players. Well, this might be ringing a bell for the golf fans. Not this exact scene, but that feeling of competition. 

One of the most dramatic moments in the history of golf happened at Marco Simone in 2023. It was a beautiful Saturday at the 2023 Ryder Cup. Players and fans were excited alike for the patriotic showdown. This is when Rory McIlroy and Joe LaCava, who was caddying for Patrick Cantlay, disagreed on the eighteenth hole. Cantlay sank a 43-footer for birdie to clinch the match, prompting LaCava to celebrate by waving his hat. Why hat you wonder? To take a jibe at the European fans who were waving their ats all day at Cantlay since he had allegedly refused to wear any because of not being paid to compete there.

However, in the process, LaCava got in line and in the face of McIlroy, who was preparing to take his final putt. Per reports, the caddy remained that way for around 90 seconds. This annoyed the Northern Irishman, and his frustration boiled over in the parking lot afterward. “It was a bit of a deflating finish last night,” McIlroy said after his Sunday match. “But what happened on that last green gave us a little extra fire in our bellies to get the job done today.” After the Ohio State and Michigan brawl, Max Homa raised an interesting question in line with the McIlroy-LaCava feud.

The Tour pro, known for his wit, took to his official X account and, hilariously wrote, “Imagine if Joe Lacava had a flag to plant in Rome.” Now, we will keep the imagination part to you. The fans in the comment section had some hilarious responses. One fan noted, “I think that would’ve started a civil war in golf.”

Did the LaCava-McIlroy feud continue, or did it end in Rome? Thanks to their sportsmanship, it was the latter.

Rory McIlroy and Joe LaCava met again in the final round of the 2024 US Open

While the resolution was made immediately during the final round, when Joe LaCava was reported to reach out to the Northern Irishman to apologize, things were dragged nonetheless. But this year, the air of confusion was completely cleared out. Steve Sands of NBC Sports reported LaCava texted McIlroy’s camp “Love you guys, I have nothing but respect.” McIlroy and LaCava then reportedly met to clear the air before playing on Sunday at Marco Simone.

Later, in the final round of the 124th U.S. Open Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy played in the same group for the first time since their Ryder Cup feud, which was largely fueled by Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava. There were rumors that this would potentially bring back some of the tense memories for McIlroy. However, when McIlroy and LaCava crossed paths at the first tee, there was no sign of animosity. The two shook hands, with McIlroy even winked at the looper and said, “Let’s have a good day.”

Did seeing the Michigan-Ohio fight remind you of the LaCava-McIlroy feud like it did to Homa? Let us know in the comments below.