Ryder Cup: Team USA fractured as Patrick Cantlay calls for players to be paid

Patrick Cantlay questioned why Team USA players were not being paid to feature in Rome; Cantlay and close friend Xander Schauffele are believed to be sitting in a separate area of the team dressing room

Team USA have been embroiled in an internal dispute during the Ryder Cup after Patrick Cantlay questioned why players were not being paid to feature in Rome.

Sky Sports understands Cantlay’s behaviour has caused a rift within Zach Johnson’s team room at Marco Simone GC, where USA trailed by a record-equalling margin on the opening day.

Cantlay believes players should be paid to participate in the Ryder Cup and demonstrated his frustration at not being paid by refusing to wear a team cap during the Saturday foursomes, having worn a cap during last year’s Presidents Cup.

The Presidents Cup is a PGA Tour event, not a PGA of America event, with whom Cantlay has a bigger axe to grind.

The former FedExCup champion also refused to attend the gala dinner earlier in the week and, along with his close friend Xander Schauffele, is sitting is a separate area of the team dressing room.

Before the Ryder Cup it was widely reported that the same pair were the ones refusing to allow Netflix cameras access to the team room, with both players also missing from Team USA’s pre-event scouting mission to Rome earlier in September.

Max Homa denied any rift within the USA camp and when asked about how good morale was within the team, he replied: “Great. We know how good we are. Everybody knows how good the man to my left is. We obviously are in a big hole but we have the right guys to dig ourselves out of it.”

Scheffler reduced to tears after record defeat

World No 1 Scottie Scheffler was reduced to tears after he and Brooks Koepka suffered a record-breaking defeat against Viktor Hovland and Ludvig Åberg in the Saturday foursomes.

The American pair were five over inside the opening three holes and slumped to a 9&7 loss, which smashed the previous record foursomes win of 7&6 and is the largest margin of 18-hole victory in Ryder Cup history.

Europe were three up after three despite being over…