Rory McIlroy was involved in a heated confrontation with American caddy Jim 'Bones' Mackay at the Ryder Cup, which U.S. vice captain Fred Couples described as "disrespectful." The incident happened after McIlroy took exception to Mackay celebrating on the 18th green while he was trying to putt. McIlroy later referred to the United States' actions as "disgraceful." Couples defended Mackay, saying that McIlroy had yelled at him in front of his wife, using inappropriate language.
However, McIlroy did apologize to Mackay afterwards.
Couples disputed McIlroy's claims that the U.S. team was acting inappropriately, stating that there was no disrespect involved. He accused McIlroy of overreacting and suggested that the European team's reaction was unwarranted as well. Overall, Couples felt that the incident was blown out of proportion and did not warrant the level of controversy it received.
