REVEALED: The REAL reason US Ryder Cup star Patrick Cantlay was the only member of his team who refused to wear a cap… and it’s to do with his wedding in Rome today!

• Xander Schauffele’s dad has weighed in on the Ryder Cup’s hat-gate scandal 
• Patrick Cantlay received abuse this weekend after he chose not to wear a cap 
• Claims were made that he did so in protest of a lack of pay at the Ryder Cup 

Xander Schauffele’s father, Stefan, has claimed the reason that Patrick Cantlay was not wearing a cap during the 2023 Ryder Cup was because he didn’t want to ruin his wedding photos with a golfer’s tan.

It came after Cantlay became the subject of heavy abuse at the tournament amid the hat-gate scandal, with claims being made by Sky Sports that he had chosen not to wear a cap at the tournament in protest of a lack of pay. 

Players do not receive remuneration for their appearance at a Ryder Cup, with those reports also claiming that Cantlay was at the centre of a rift within the US Team dressing room, sitting in a separate area of the room with team-mate and friend Schauffele. 

European fans at the Marco Simone Golf and Country Club poked fun at the 31-year-old, who is due to get married on Monday, doffing their caps to him as he walked the fairway while waving them in the air in jest. 

The incident sparked a reaction from many of the US players, who, when Cantlay and Wyndham Clark bested Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick during Saturday’s fourballs, raised their caps to Cantlay and waved them sarcastically in response. 

Xander Schauffele’s (right) father has revealed the reason that Patrick Cantlay (left) was not wearing a cap during the 2023 Ryder Cup

Cantlay is due to marry his partner Nikki Guidish (left) on Monday but did not want to get a golfer’s tan on his head by wearing a cap

Claims were made that he refused to wear a hat at the Ryder Cup in protest of a lack of pay, with his caddie Joe LeCava (left) being embroiled in a spat with Rory McIlroy  

Guidish supported her loved one around the golf course in Rome as USA lost the Ryder Cup

The duo beaming together as they celebrated their engagement after Cantlay proposed

Guidish is a 31-year-old pharmacist – with Cantlay making their relationship public since 2021

The former FedEx Cup champion, who is due to marry Nikki Guidish on Monday, vehemently denied the rumours that he was not wearing a cap out of protest. 

‘It’s totally false – it couldn’t be further from the truth,’ Cantlay said to NBC on Sunday. ‘There hasn’t been one word of that all week. The US team has been close all week. It’s just outright lies.’

And the real reason for his decision not to wear a cap has now been revealed, as Mail Sport understands, Schauffele’s dad revealing that Cantlay, who has won eight times on the PGA Tour in his career, did not want to wear a hat because he did not want his wedding photos to be ruined by the classic golfer’s tan line across his face.

Guidish is a 31-year-old pharmacist and former fitness model. Cantlay went public with the relationship back in 2021. 

Europe would ultimately claim a 16.5-11.5 victory at the tournament, but the affair did have an edge to it following the incident, with Cantlay’s caddie Joe LeCava enraging Rory McIlroy on the 18th green after he stood in front of McIlroy while he was trying to putt, also waving his cap. 

That subsequently sparked an altercation in the car park following the day’s play, with Rory McIlroy being seen in a video clashing with Justin Thomas’ caddie Jim ‘Bones’ Mackay, after he clashed with LaCava on the 18th green.  

Following Sunday’s defeat by Europe, Cantlay answered questions on the hat-gate incident, claiming he didn’t really ‘know the genesis of the events that had taken place’.

‘Sure, well, yesterday out on the golf course in the afternoon, I didn’t really realise the genesis of why what was happening was happening,’ he said. 

‘I didn’t find out until after the match had finished, and obviously quite a scene there in the dark when it was finishing. 

‘Like I said yesterday in the media, I didn’t see the incident that happened on the green with Rory [McIlroy] and Joe [LeCava]. I was wrapped up in a totally different head space than watching that. 

He added: ‘And yeah, I mean, it was a crazy 24 hours. I mean, last night I was just trying to give the guys a little bit of momentum, and fortunately, Wyndham and I were able to close that match out and try to set a new tone going into today. But like I said, it was a steep climb.’ 

Fans doffed their caps and waved them at Cantlay with the American receiving plenty of abuse on the course

But Cantlay has vehemently denied any claims that he was protesting a lack of pay

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