‘It broke my heart’: Major champ fuels speculation of ‘splintered’ U.S. Ryder Cup team

One of the biggest questions in the golf world — and one we might truly never have an answer to — might always be what really happened in that U.S. Ryder Cup team room at Marco Simone this fall.

We know the Europeans dominated the Americans, winning 16.5-11.5 to extend their unbeaten streak on home soil to seven matches. But distracting from the competition was a report — and subsequent reports and comments — that there was a rift inside the U.S. team room.

It all started with Sky Sports reporting that Patrick Cantlay was not wearing a team hat in protest of players not getting paid that “fractured” the team room. Cantlay denied it. So did players, who also mocked the story. Meanwhile, other reports came out that said there might have been at least some truth to it. Who to believe? Good question.

Now, we have new comments from Lucas Glover, a Ryder Cup captain’s pick hopeful who was left off the team. Speaking on SiriusXM’s PGA Tour Radio on Friday, Glover said he was told there was a “splintered” team room — and his source, he made clear, was onsite.

“It broke my heart the week after to hear about how splintered the room was and the things about money and different things,” Glover told SiriusXM. “That’s not at all what the Ryder Cup stands for. And I’m not just going on what I’ve read and been told — I’ve talked to some people that were there in the fight, and it breaks my heart to hear that because that’s not what it’s about. That’s not what it stands for and it’s not why I want to play on that team.”

Players like Cameron Young and Keegan Bradley might have been bigger Ryder Cup snubs than Glover, but the former U.S. Open champion might have been the hottest player leading up to the captain’s picks. Glover finished 16th in the final standings, but he won the Wyndham Championship and FedEx St. Jude Championship back-to-back just as Zach Johnson’s captain’s picks decisions drew closer.

Glover played in two Presidents Cup, but he’s still yet to qualify for a Ryder Cup team.

“It’s easy to say three weeks after, two weeks after, and unfortunately they lost, but yeah, I would have liked to have been there,” he told SiriusXM. “And I think I could have brought some different things to the table.”

Josh Berhow

Golf.com Editor

As GOLF.com’s managing editor, Berhow handles the day-to-day and long-term planning of one of the sport’s most-read news and service websites. He spends most of his days writing, editing, planning and wondering if he’ll ever break 80. Before joining GOLF.com in 2015, he worked at newspapers in Minnesota and Iowa. A graduate of Minnesota State University in Mankato, Minn., he resides in the Twin Cities with his wife and two kids. You can reach him at joshua_berhow@golf.com.

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