Is this the real reason behind Patrick Cantlay’s Ryder Cup scandal?

It was the biggest talking point at last year’s Ryder Cup. ‘Hatgate’, so-called after it was rumoured Patrick Cantlay would not wear a US team cap unless he was paid, not only made the American a pantomime villain, but sparked a remarkable series of events on and off the course at Marco Simone.

As the news, which Cantlay was quick to deny, made its way through the Rome country club, the European fans showed their derision for Cantlay, chanting at him on every tee, fairway and green and waving their caps in the air.

By the time the Saturday afternoon fourballs match involving Cantlay and Wyndham Clark against Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick reached 18, Cantlay’s caddie, Joe LaCava, had seen enough.

After Cantlay’s long birdie putt dropped and with McIlroy still with a chance to rescue a half, LaCava made his feelings known to the baying crowds, as well as McIlroy.

The fallout then took an absurd turn that ended with Northern Irishman being bundled into a car by teammate Shane Lowry after a heated exchange that involved Justin Thomas’s bagman Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay outside the team’s locker rooms.

But while millions of column inches and hours of TV and podcast tape were dedicated to the drama, there was one question that largely remained unanswered.

Why did Cantlay really refuse to wear a cap?

The man himself denied it was down to a lack of pay, first saying it was because he was getting married the week after the Ryder Cup and didn’t want to have tan lines, then claiming the team’s hats simply didn’t fit him.

But if it was a money issue – Ryder Cup competitors don’t get paid to play in the biennial match, instead receiving a $200,000 donation for a charity of their choice – then Cantlay has found sympathy from one industry expert.

Daryl Evans, who owns leading sports marketing agency Rocket Yard Sports, tells bunkered that he understands why Cantlay refused to conform in Italy, saying the problem comes from higher up the food chain.

“I’m not speaking on behalf of Cantlay,” Evans explains, “but I’m assuming he’s quite happy to play in the Ryder Cup for free.

“The injustice for him is not the fact he’s not getting paid, it’s that all these other executives are getting highly-inflated fees for being connected the Ryder Cup. That’s more his problem.

“The Ryder Cup is worth several million dollars in media valuation per player. I don’t think you’ll have one player that’s not generating at least $10 million for the week in media value, so I understand his point about not getting paid.”

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One of the most lucrative assets to a golfer is the space on the front of their hat.

Most, depending on their equipment deal, will wear the manufacturer’s logo. Others, like Cantlay, prefer to offer that space to corporate sponsors.

“They are all getting $200,000 each to give to charity, but they’re not getting paid for the front of hat, and it must be frustrating to see the other executives get paid for not really doing a lot – and they’re money’s only going up.

“I suspect if he felt like they weren’t getting paid either, or they were donating money to charity, he would find that much more palatable.”

In a fascinating interview, Daryl Evans speaks more in-depth about just how much a golfer can charge for advertising space on their clothing, as well as a behind-the-scenes look at equipment deals in issue 209 of bunkered magazine – on sale now!

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor