The Ryder Cup is never short on drama, but Saturday at Bethpage Black delivered a particularly heated chapter as tensions boiled over between Team USA and Team Europe during the four-ball match. The flashpoint? A seemingly innocuous moment on the 15th green, but one that quickly escalated into a full-blown confrontation involving players, caddies, and even vice captains.
It all started as Justin Rose, representing Europe, lined up a 15-foot birdie putt. With the Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Scottie Scheffler studying their own upcoming putt, DeChambeau’s caddie Greg Bodine found himself standing a little too close for Rose’s liking. Rose, waiting patiently at first, eventually motioned for Bodine to move, declaring, “It’s my putt, right?” according to Rose’s own account. The tension in the air was palpable, and with Europe already 3 up in the match, the stakes couldn’t have been higher.
“I was waiting to putt, the boys were obviously working on their read, obviously going through a lot of their sort of whatever, calculations and bits and pieces, so I sort of waited a few seconds,” Rose explained after the match. “Then I felt like they came up again, and I was like, 'It’s my putt, right?' Maybe I didn’t say it as politely as I could have said it in the moment, but by no means was there any disrespect or anything like that. But obviously it was taken the wrong way.”
What happened next was a flurry of competitive fire. Rose drained his birdie and celebrated in the direction of DeChambeau and Bodine, only for DeChambeau to answer right back with an 11-foot birdie putt of his own. The exchange of clutch shots set the stage for a confrontation as the players walked off the green. DeChambeau approached Rose, and the two exchanged words. The situation quickly drew in others: Tommy Fleetwood, Rose’s partner, and his caddie Ian Finnis; Ted Scott, Scheffler’s caddie; and European vice captain Francesco Molinari.
The argument spilled over to the 16th tee box. NBC’s on-course reporter Smylie Kaufman described the scene as, “No exaggeration guys, every single person on this tee is heated.” At one point, Finnis was overheard telling DeChambeau to “chill out” as he and Fleetwood traded barbs. Ted Scott was seen yelling at Rose and later getting in Molinari’s face after an accidental bump. Fleetwood, ever the peacemaker, stepped in to separate the parties and calm things down.
The match itself was a showcase of high-level golf, but the emotional temperature threatened to overshadow the play. Despite being 9 under par, DeChambeau and Scheffler found themselves on the losing end of a 3-and-2 decision after Rose calmly rolled in a 6½-foot par putt on the 16th hole to seal the win for Europe. The handshake line was tense but ultimately respectful, with Scott and Molinari exchanging words before the air finally seemed to clear.
Rose, reflecting on the incident, told NBC’s Damon Hack, “It was a shame that the match got to that point because it was actually a really great match.” He added, “I said to the boys, if you want me to say, ‘Excuse me, please,’ then yeah, my bad.” Rose emphasized that there was no intent to disrespect anyone and hoped that the matter was settled. “I spoke to the boys. It should be [over], in my opinion. There was no intent behind it whatsoever. I admire [Scheffler] more than anybody else out on tour with the way he goes about his business, the way he goes about his life, and obviously just huge respect all around. But from my point of view, it was something that was sort of taken in a way that wasn’t intended in a way, but obviously it was a big putt, big moment. I’m trying to control my environment as well in that scenario. We’re all competitors, right? I think that’s all within the framework of what we’ve got to do out here.”
Team USA’s captain Keegan Bradley also weighed in, having spoken with all parties involved. “I mean, I think it was a little bit disrespectful, but Justin Rose told me after on the green that they had talked it out,” Bradley said. “I talked to Bryson. In sports, golf, it’s blown into this huge thing. It happens in sports all the time. They seemed fine after the round. You know, it’s super passionate out there, especially for -- well, for both sides. But from what I understand, everything was fine after the round. These sort of things happen when you’re playing for your country.”
For Scottie Scheffler, the loss was another tough pill to swallow in what’s become a difficult Ryder Cup week. Despite solid play, Scheffler became the first American to lose a match in each of the first four sessions of a Ryder Cup, a feat previously matched only by two Europeans: Peter Alliss in 1967 and Peter Townsend in 1971. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, he’s only the fourth American to lose four matches during a single Ryder Cup on U.S. soil, joining the likes of Steve Stricker (2012), Raymond Floyd (1983), and Fuzzy Zoeller (1979). Scheffler’s winless streak now stretches to eight matches, dating back to Europe’s 16.5-11.5 victory in Rome in 2023.
Yet, Bradley was quick to defend his star. “This is what happens in sports all the time,” Bradley remarked. “You know, you see somebody, like I said in here last night, in golf, the moment you want something so bad and you try so hard, you don’t play as well. And when you’re kind of freewheeling it, and I know how it is when you get off to a bad start in a Ryder Cup. You really desperately want to help the team, and I’ve been out there with Scottie, he’s played great. He flew one in the hole today and it popped out and came off the green. We’ve had some wacky stuff go on.”
For Team Europe, the win was part of a dominant Saturday, as they entered Sunday’s singles matches with a record seven-point lead. Rose and Fleetwood remained undefeated, with Rose moving to 2-0, Fleetwood at a sparkling 4-0, and Rory McIlroy boasting a 3-0-1 record. The momentum was clearly on Europe’s side, but as Ryder Cup history has shown, nothing is certain until the final putt drops.
As the dust settled on Bethpage’s 15th and 16th holes, both teams seemed to agree: competitiveness sometimes boils over, but respect and sportsmanship ultimately prevail. With Sunday singles looming, all eyes now turn to whether Team USA can mount a comeback or if Europe will ride their emotional and scoring advantage to another Ryder Cup triumph.
