Why did Tiger Woods text Rory McIlroy after the Ryder Cup? Real reason explored
Rory McIlroy recently revealed that Tiger Woods reached out to him after he had a verbal spat with Joe LaCava at Marco Simone Golf Club during the Ryder Cup 2023.
Tiger Woods and Joe LaCava had a successful golfer-caddie partnership for a long time before the latter teamed up with Patrick Cantlay earlier this year. Barring the Ryder Cup experience, LaCava also shares a good relationship with McIlroy.
In a recent interview with Paul Kimmage of the Irish Independent, McIlroy revealed that LaCava had texted him that night and asked him to meet the following day to clear the air. He also revealed that Woods had tried to connect with him via phone and text after the unfortunate experience at the Marco Simone Golf Club.
Mcllroy said, as per TalkSport:
"There was also three texts and two missed calls from Tiger, because they’re obviously still close. I sent him a quick message, 'It will be fine… long day… just want to go to bed."
While Woods and LaCava have gone their separate ways, they still maintain a cordial bond, and the split was more a result of the veteran's injury than any other reason. The 15-time Major champion also enjoys a great rapport with the Northern Irishman, and both are co-founders of TMRW Sports. With both parties being his close friends, Woods' intervention was understandable.
During the 2023 Ryder Cup, controversy erupted when Cantlay sank an incredible winning putt on the final hole of the Saturday four-ball. Following the putt, LaCava and other US team players waved their hats in support of Cantlay. The golfer was alleged to have not worn a hat as a sign of protest at not being paid for the biennial event.
However, McIlroy felt disrespected when LaCava took quite a while to stop the celebration and kept standing in his putting line. As a result, he engaged in a bit of an argument with the veteran caddie, and soon it escalated to the point where his teammate Shane Lowry and wife Erica had to intervene.
How many titles have Tiger Woods and Joe LaCava won together?
The 47-year-old golfer has won 11 titles with LaCava on the bag. LaCava, who has won 28 PGA Tour titles, including 12 with Couples and 11 with Tiger Woods, also secured five titles with Dustin Johnson.
LaCava teamed up with Tiger Woods in 2011, when the golfer was not in the best of form and was going through a title drought. By November of that year, he had slipped as low as 58th in the Original World Golf Ranking.
The partnership soon started reaping results as Woods returned to the top from March 2013 to May 2014. Both ended up winning 11 PGA Tour titles, including the 2019 Masters, which was Woods' first Major championship win since the 2008 US Open.
Here are all the titles won by Woods-LaCava:
- 2012: Arnold Palmer Invitational, Memorial Tournament, AT&T National
- 2013: Farmers Insurance Open, WGC-Cadillac Championship, Arnold Palmer Invitational, The Players Championship, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational
- 2018: Tour Championship
- 2019: Masters Tournament, Zozo Championship