DeChambeau and Scheffler’s caddies face Rose in the Ryder Cup

Ryder Cup Tension: DeChambeau and Scheffler Embroiled in Controversy

The Ryder Cup week has not been favorable for American stars Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler at Bethpage Black. The situation became even more complicated when their caddies were involved in an altercation with Europeans Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood during their four-ball match on Saturday. The incident was triggered when Rose was preparing for a 15-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole. According to Rose, DeChambeau’s caddie, Greg Bodine, returned to analyze his player’s putt and stood near his line. Rose instructed Bodine to move away.

“I was waiting to putt, the guys were obviously working on their reading, going through a lot of their calculations and things like that, so I waited a few seconds,” Rose said. “Then I felt them coming back and I said, ‘It’s my putt, right?'”

Justin Rose

The tension was already high, as the Europeans were 3 points ahead in the match. After Rose holed his birdie putt, he celebrated in the direction of DeChambeau and Bodine. DeChambeau, after making an 11-foot birdie putt to extend the match, seemed to respond in kind. The conflict continued until the tee of the 16th hole. Fleetwood and his caddie, Ian Finnis, joined the discussion, and Scheffler’s caddie, Ted Scott, had words with the European team’s vice-captain, Francesco Molinari. Fleetwood intervened to separate Molinari and Scott and try to calm the situation.

After Rose made a 6-and-a-half-foot par putt to secure the 3-and-2 victory on the 16th hole, the golfers and caddies shook hands. Scott spoke with Molinari, and the situation seemed to calm down. Scheffler, for his part, has had a week to forget, becoming the first American golfer to lose a match in each of the first four sessions of a Ryder Cup. The world number 1 is only the fourth American to lose four matches during a Ryder Cup played on American soil, joining Steve Stricker (2012), Raymond Floyd (1983) and Fuzzy Zoeller (1979), according to Elias Sports Bureau. No American has lost five matches in a Ryder Cup, whether at home or away. Scheffler hasn’t won in his last eight matches, going back to the Europeans’ 16.5-11.5 victory in Rome in 2023.