OWINGS MILLS, Md. – Patrick Cantlay never blinked.
Amidst the waves of noise from the boisterous galleries on every hole and playing alongside the imposing, thundering force that is Bryson DeChambeau, an unhurried and unflappable Cantlay finally put an end to an instant classic at the BMW Championship by making a 17-footer for birdie on the sixth playoff hole at Caves Valley Golf Club to topple DeChambeau.
His back against the proverbial wall, including on the final three holes of regulation, the first three holes of a playoff and then on the fifth extra hole after DeChambeau hit first and knocked his wedge from 186 yards to 6 feet on the par-3 17th, Cantlay came up clutch every time.
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After making putts for par on the 16th from 9 feet and for bogey on the 17th from 8 feet, Cantlay rolled in a 21-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to force a playoff. After surviving three DeChambeau putts to end the playoff the first three holes, Cantlay followed DeChambeau’s brilliant tee shot on the fifth extra hole with a shot to inside three feet and both made birdie.
On the final hole, both found the fairway and Cantlay won the second FedEx Cup Playoffs event and his fifth PGA Tour title with his day-ending putt on the sixth extra hole in the fading light.
“I felt like I tried to stay in my own little world,” Cantlay said. “I’m just as focused as I can be. If I look the way I do, it’s because I am locked in and focused, and I felt like that today. My game feels really good. It has for a while now, since Memorial, and I’m finally starting to putt like me again.”
Cantlay gained 14.58 strokes on the field with his putting, the most strokes gained putting in a 72-hole event since tracking began on the PGA Tour in 2004. And he became the only player to win three times during the PGA Tour’s super season, adding to his victory in the 2020 Zozo Championship and the Memorial.
Both finished regulation at 27 under – Cantlay with rounds of 66-63-66-66, DeChambeau with rounds of 68-60-67-66. Cantlay made 31 birdies for the week while DeChambeau made 27 birdies and four eagles.
Conditions were so ripe for scoring all week that all 69 players in the field finished under par, the first time that’s happened in the history of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Because of the staggered scoring format used in the upcoming week’s Tour Championship, the playoffs finale, Cantlay will have a two-shot lead to start the first round at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
And Cantlay also secured a playing spot on the U.S. Ryder Cup team. His win made him the sixth automatic selection as qualifying came to an end and he joined Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, DeChambeau and Justin Thomas. Captain Steve Stricker will make six discretionary picks to fill out the team after The Tour Championship.
DeChambeau, who was a 6-foot putt shy of shooting 59 in the second round, could have won on the 72nd hole but missed from 12 feet. He had chances to win on the first three playoff holes but missed from 17, 6 and 18 feet.
DeChambeau, trying to win his ninth title and third of the season, declined to be interviewed after the playoff.
Sungjae Im came home with a 67 to finish third at 23 under.
Rory McIlroy closed with a 67 to finish fourth at 22 under.
Erik Van Rooyen shot 65 to finish fifth. By making birdies on two of his final three holes, Van Rooyen jumped from 45th to 27th in the FedEx Cup standings, which, as one of the top 30, gets him to East Lake in Atlanta for The Tour Championship, the playoffs finale.
Sergio Garcia was the only other player to jump into the top 30, going from 44th to 28th with a final round 69 that left him in a tie for sixth with Dustin Johnson.
Sergio Garcia reacts after putting on the fourth green during the final round of the BMW Championship, Sunday, Aug. 29, 2021, at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Charley Hoffman and Max Homa were the two players that fell out of the top 30.
Outdriven all day – DeChambeau hit 48 drives over 320 yards for the week – Cantlay stuck to his own blueprint, stayed in his own quiet world, and unleashed his own style of fireworks in toppling his playing partner in a playoff.
Cantlay isn’t exactly short – he is one of the game longest, straightest drivers – but his putter was almost magical. He made more than 537 feet of putts this week. He switched to a Scotty Cameron Phantom X5 he got at the Wells Fargo.
“Finally have one that feels absolutely perfect,” Cantlay said.
He could use the description for his demeanor, too.
“I’m as focused as I can be on every single shot, and I try not to let my mind get past the moment that I’m in, and maybe that’s why I come across a little sedated out there,” Cantlay said. “But I’m locked in, and I’m as focused as I can be. Then I kind of let the chips fall where they do. Try not to get caught up in being out-driven 45 yards or whatever it is. I just try and lock in and do my absolute best in that moment, and my best is pretty good.
“I’m a little tired but very happy. I played really well all week. At the beginning of the week I didn’t realize it would take that many under par to just force a playoff. But I hit a lot of good shots today, and it was just enough.”
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