ATLANTA – Patrick “Patty Ice” Cantlay never melted.
For seven nights Cantlay slept on the lead for the Tour Championship, the season-ending tournament at East Lake Golf Club that doubled as the FedEx Cup Playoffs finale, and never succumbed to the weight of pressure.
On Monday he’ll wake up $15 million richer.
By way of his six-hole playoff win against Bryson DeChambeau in the BMW Championship a week ago, where he earned his new nickname for his cool and collected ways, Cantlay was armed with a two-stroke lead to start the first round due to the staggered scoring system used for the final event of the playoffs.
And no one got past him a Sunday later.
Tour Championship: Winner’s Bag | Prize money
In the final round, where Cantlay and world No. 1 Jon Rahm became a two-man race late in the day, basically playing for $10 million (the difference between the first-place prize money of $15 million and the second-place prize money of $5 million), the stoic Cantlay never buckled.
He and his magical putter canned a 6-footer for birdie on the 16th to get two clear of Rahm, the only player to ever get into a tie with Cantlay over the four days (and that came in the third round). Then Cantlay dug deep to make another 6-footer, this one for bogey on the 17th, to stay one shot ahead of Rahm. And on the 579-yard, par-5 18th, Cantlay had to step up after Rahm rifled a mid-iron from 232 yards to just 18-feet past the hole in the fringe. Knowing he needed to make at least a birdie, Cantlay, after he hit his best drive of the day which went 361 yards, ripped a 6-iron form 218 yards to 11 feet. After Rahm scared the hole with his chip, Cantlay putted to six inches and tapped in for the winning birdie and the $15 million grand prize.
Wire-to-wire at East Lake. 🏆
The #FedExCup belongs to @Patrick_Cantlay.
(Presented by @SuperStrokeGolf) pic.twitter.com/9zs5BzNljT
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) September 5, 2021
“I played great today,” said Cantlay, who went T11-W-W in the three playoff events. “It hasn’t even sunk in yet. I just kept telling myself to focus and lock in and I did a great job of that today. It was tough (sleeping on the lead). It was the longest lead I’ve ever held. But I just tried to stay, day after day, in the present, and I did an amazing job of that this week because the last couple days I made some mistakes I don’t usually make and I was able to really center myself and hit a lot of good shots when I needed to.”
Cantlay closed with a 69 to finish at 21 under.
Rahm shot 68 to finish at 20 under. Rahm started the first round four shots back and his 266 total tied for the lowest this week with Kevin Na. Cantlay shot 269.
But Cantlay earned his starting position and didn’t relinquish it en route to his sixth PGA Tour title. When asked if he felt he won the tournament because he tied for the lowest total, Rahm was emphatic in his response.
“No, because I didn’t,” he said. “That’s the reason why we have this system we have. In scoring when they show you the sheets and points, it felt really weird to have this feeling of disappointment of not winning on a day you are making $5 million. I gave it my all. It wasn’t enough.
“I shot my lowest score ever for four days on this golf course, which has usually been a challenge for me. And Patrick played great golf, and he was four shots ahead of me, and even though I might have been the better man over the week, he earned it. He played amazing. That up-and-down after missing the green on 17, the second shot on 18 to almost make it is even more impressive.
“I think you can say he won this. He played amazing golf.”
Na shot 67 to finish in solo third at 16 under.
Thomas birdied the last to shoot 70 and finish solo fourth at 15 under.
Gold medalist Schauffele finished with five birdies in his last six holes to shoot 64, tied for the lowest round of the week. It was his 20th consecutive round of even-par or better at East Lake. He finished at 14 under, joined there by Viktor Hovland, who shot 65.
Bryson DeChambeau ended with a 66 to finish at 13 under. Defending FedEx Cup champion Dustin Johnson closed with a 67 to finish at 11 under.
Cantlay won four of the 50 events played in the “super season,” which included six major championships and 43 different winners; Cantlay was the only player to win more than two tournaments.
And his wins were big and came against some of the biggest names in the sport.
He held off Rahm and Thomas to win the Zozo Championship in the fall by one shot, defeated Collin Morikawa on the first playoff hole to win the Memorial, outlasted DeChambeau in a six-hole playoff to win the BMW Championship, and stayed ahead to topple Rahm again on Sunday.
“They are obviously great players and it’s no surprise that some of the battles I’ve had have been with some of the best players in the world this year,” Cantlay said. “I think it’s really fun. It’s exactly why I play golf. I play golf so I can be in those moments against the best players in the world. It’s why I practice so hard. It’s why I’m in love with the game because it’s that great vehicle for competition.
“It maybe makes it a little sweeter knowing that the guys I played against are the best players in the world.”
Cantlay played 24 of the season’s 50 events and now it’s time for a rest. The 29-year-old will be going to Napa, California, for a mini-vacation with Schauffele and each’s significant others, then will go to a friend’s wedding this coming weekend. After that, he will go to Whistling Straits in Wisconsin for a practice session ahead of the Ryder Cup. Cantlay is one of six automatic qualifiers for the match against Europe Sept. 24-26. U.S. captain Steve Stricker makes six discretionary picks on Wednesday.
“It was a long year,” Cantlay said. “I thought I could barely remember when it started. A lot of events, and I’m very tired after, it feels like, you know, just a ton of golf and a ton of pressure golf.
“But I’m very grateful and happy to be here, and I’m really proud of myself for staying in the moment and delivering when it counted.”
During his rest and relaxation, however, don’t expect Cantlay to be dreaming about buying a Ferrari and a mansion.
“This week, as silly as it sounds, the money is not what’s really important for me,” he said. “The money is not what drives me to play this game. Winning golf tournaments, playing golf under pressure, and hitting quality golf shots under the gun, I mean, that’s why I practice and that’s why I practiced my whole life, and that’s the best feeling in the world, is winning golf tournaments for me.
“So the money is just a consequence of that. But I am fortunate. I have a really good partner in Goldman Sachs, and I’m sure we will find a good investment for it.”
He’s done OK investing in himself.
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