Team USA 'fractured' as Cantlay calls for players to be paid

Patrick Cantlay questioned why Team USA players were not being paid to feature in Rome; Cantlay and close friend Xander Schauffele are believed to be sitting in a separate area of the team dressing room

By Jamie Weir

Last Updated: 30/09/23 8:28pm

Patrick Cantlay (right) played alongside Xander Schauffele on Saturday morning in Rome

Team USA have been embroiled in an internal dispute during the Ryder Cup after Patrick Cantlay questioned why players were not being paid to feature in Rome.

Sky Sports understands Cantlay’s behaviour has caused a rift within Zach Johnson’s team room at Marco Simone GC, where USA trailed by a record-equalling margin on the opening day.

Cantlay believes players should be paid to participate in the Ryder Cup and demonstrated his frustration at not being paid by refusing to wear a team cap during the Saturday foursomes, having worn a cap during last year’s Presidents Cup.

The Presidents Cup is a PGA Tour event, not a PGA of America event, with whom Cantlay has a bigger axe to grind.

Europe extend Ryder Cup lead after Hovland and Rahm heroicsLatest Ryder Cup scores and tee times | Second day as it happenedStream Ryder Cup and more with NOW for £21 a month for six months

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Nicolas Colsaerts whipped up the Ryder Cup crowd on the first tee ahead of day two at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club in Rome

The former FedExCup champion also refused to attend the gala dinner earlier in the week and, along with his close friend Xander Schauffele, is sitting is a separate area of the team dressing room.

Before the Ryder Cup it was widely reported that the same pair were the ones refusing to allow Netflix cameras access to the team room, with both players also missing from Team USA’s pre-event scouting mission to Rome earlier in September.

Europe fans embraced reports of the rift, waving caps at Cantlay during his round, but Team USA also provided a defiant victory salute with their headwear after Cantlay and Wyndham Clark defeated Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick in the closing fourball.

Cantlay’s agent refused to confirm or deny that Cantlay believes players should be paid to play in the Ryder Cup, but says the absence of a cap was due to a lack of comfortable sizes, rather than a protest.

He also denied that Cantlay and Schauffele have been sitting separately from the rest of the team in the locker room.

Max Homa denied any rift within the USA camp and when asked about how good morale was within the team, he replied: “Great. We know how good we are. Everybody knows how good the man to my left is. We obviously are in a big hole but we have the right guys to dig ourselves out of it.”

Scheffler reduced to tears after record defeat

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World number one Scottie Scheffler was in tears after he and Brooks Koepka suffered a record 9&7 loss to Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler was reduced to tears after he and Brooks Koepka suffered a record-breaking defeat against Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg in the Saturday foursomes.

The American pair were five over inside the opening three holes and slumped to a 9&7 loss, which smashed the previous record foursomes win of 7&6 and is the largest margin of 18-hole victory in Ryder Cup history.

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Ludvig Aberg and Viktor Hovland set a Ryder Cup record as they thrashed Scottie Scheffler and Brooks Koepka with a 9&7 win on day two

Europe were three up after three despite being over par and took the fourth hole when Åberg almost made a hole-in-one, with the home pair birdieing the sixth and then winning four consecutive holes from the eighth to complete a dramatic victory.

“We were playing two strong guys – the No 1 in the world and a five-time major champion – and we did not give them anything,” Hovland said. “We played really, really solid. I don’t think we could have done a lot better.”

McGinley: Something going on… are they treating this seriously?

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Paul McGinley is bewildered by Team USA’s performance so far at Ryder Cup and praises Luke Donald for Team Europe’s success

Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley, speaking to Sky Sports:

“It’s just unbelievable there is no reaction. It lends me to think: what is going on behind the scenes? What kind of attitude, atmosphere? Are these guys really primed to play the Ryder Cup?

“It’s quite clear from their schedules they are not. Nine of the 12 have had four weeks off and not played a golf tournament; they’d never go to a major on the back of four weeks off.

“Are they treating this as seriously as a major? There is something going on, they cannot be playing as bad as they are.”

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