Jim Furyk Dismisses HatGate Repeat at Presidents Cup

The 2024 Presidents Cup is happening at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada.

Jim Furyk’s Team USA aims to secure their 13th win out of 15 editions. To achieve this, Furyk has selected eight players from last year’s Ryder Cup team, including Patrick Cantlay, who was involved in the HatGate controversy.

During the previous Ryder Cup at Marco Simone, rumors spread that Cantlay led a split in the US team over player payments. He didn’t wear a hat during the match, which some said was his way of protesting because they weren’t getting paid. Cantlay later denied these claims as “complete lies” and explained he simply didn’t wear it because it didn’t fit .

HatGate Incident:

Cantlay’s hatless appearance became a memorable moment when his caddie Joe LaCava waved his own hat to celebrate a crucial putt. This action annoyed Rory McIlroy, who was about to take an important shot himself. With Cantlay participating in the Presidents Cup, people naturally asked if he would wear a hat this time around.

In a press conference before the match, Furyk joked about finally finding a hat that fits Cantlay’s head shape. Fans might find this amusing and think it’s no big deal now. Furyk added that two years ago in Charlotte, Cantlay wore a hat comfortably thanks to their vendors on the PGA Tour.

Furyk emphasized that whether players choose to wear hats or not doesn’t matter as long as they are comfortable. He mentioned how uncomfortable hats can be for him personally but stressed that player comfort is more important than anything else.

Whether HatGate distracted them or not, Team USA lost to Europe 16.5-11.5 in the last Ryder Cup and has only won three times out of eleven since 2000. Furyk believes their struggles may stem from putting too much pressure on themselves during the Ryder Cup compared to playing more freely and loosely in the Presidents Cup.

What do you think about all this? Do you believe HatGate really impacted their game?