 Patrick Cantlay has hit out at claims he refused to wear a cap at the Ryder Cup in protest at not being paid to take part, branding the reports 'outright lies'. Team USA struggled over the first two days of action in Rome but threatened to mount a fightback in Sunday's singles, with Cantlay seeing off Justin Rose to claim a point – though it was Europe who ultimately emerged victorious 16½-11½. On several occasions over the weekend, Cantlay doffed an imaginary cap to the crowd after holing putts as the home crowd taunted him over reports he was refusing to wear the Team USA hat due to a pay dispute. While the 31-year-old was happy to play up to the crowd, he slammed the reports afterwards and also dismissed suggestions Team USA's players had been at loggerheads behind the scenes. 'It's totally false – it couldn't be further from the truth,' Cantlay told NBC on Sunday when asked about the furore surrounding his refusal to wear a cap. 'There hasn't been one word of that all week. The US team has been close all week. It's just outright lies.' Reflecting on his performance at the Ryder Cup, he continued: 'I did my best – unfortunately dealing with some weird, completely false media stories from just one person and the crowd took it and ran with it and that's alright – I had fun with them today. Cantlay and his caddie, Joe LaCava, both made headlines (Picture: Getty) 'That's how this tournament should be, that's exactly what I expected. Europe has played great all week, they've had the home crowd advantage – they've been pulling for them. 'I just try to use it as fuel. You can take all that energy and turn it into focus and good adrenaline and that's what I tried to do this week.' There were also suggestions Cantlay did not wear a cap to avoid getting a tan-line for his wedding, which he confirmed would take place in Rome on Monday. Team USA gave Europe a nervy end to the day with){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Patrick Cantlay has hit out at claims he refused to wear a cap at the Ryder Cup in protest at not being paid to take part, branding the reports ‘outright lies’.
Team USA struggled over the first two days of action in Rome but threatened to mount a fightback in Sunday’s singles, with Cantlay seeing off Justin Rose to claim a point – though it was Europe who ultimately emerged victorious 16½-11½.
On several occasions over the weekend, Cantlay doffed an imaginary cap to the crowd after holing putts as the home crowd taunted him over reports he was refusing to wear the Team USA hat due to a pay dispute.
While the 31-year-old was happy to play up to the crowd, he slammed the reports afterwards and also dismissed suggestions Team USA’s players had been at loggerheads behind the scenes.