ATLANTA – Patrick Cantlay delivered the merchandise again, this time with a 6 iron instead of a putter.
“Patty Ice” was just as clutchy with a $ 15 million shot that allowed her to hold on to Jon Rahm and win the FedEx Cup on Sunday.
In a tense duel with the world’s No. 1 player, Cantlay took a one-shot lead into the 18th hole par-5 of the Tour Championship when he hit 6 iron from 218 yards to just 12 feet, achieving the greatest victory of his career.
“It seemed like a huge victory to me, and it was like that,” Cantlay said.
Rahm’s shot was just as special, landing next to the hole on his second rebound, but rolling into the rough light beyond the green.
With Cantlay close, the Spaniard had to punch the chip to have a chance to play a playoff. He narrowly missed out, and Cantlay made two safe turns for birdie and 1-under-69s.
The win was worth $ 15 million for Cantlay, a 29-year-old Californian who increased golf with a back injury that kept him out for three years and nearly ended his career.
He has now scored among the golf elite, driven by the FedEx Cup postseason.
“It’s fantastic,” Cantlay said. “It’s a great honor because it’s all year. I played very consistently all year and caught fire in the end. There’s a lot of satisfaction considering all the work I’ve put into my whole life.”
Cantlay proved very successful in surviving a six-hole playoff to beat Bryson DeChambeau at the BMW Championship last week to get the No. 1 seed and a two-shot lead to start the Tour Championship. He never trembled for four days in East Lake.
Rahm, who started the tournament with four shots from behind and was late on the last day two, never caught Cantlay. Nor did he let Cantlay breathe quietly.
Cantlay took a two-shot lead with a 6-foot approach to Bird in the 17th hole, and lost almost everything. He drove to the right on the 17th, cutting down a tree and falling into rough depths, and then hit a steering wheel over the green and the gallery. His throw back to the green was short for him and he went deeper, and had to make a 6 foot to save bogey and stay ahead.
With Rahm well down 18th Street, Cantlay reached his best unit of the day, deploying 361 yards that set up a 6-yard line that he felt he had to play close to.
Rahm was bogey-free for the last 28 holes, but only charged two birdies. He closed with a 68 and tied with Kevin Na for the 72-hole score of the tournament to 14 under 266. They will split points towards the world rankings.
Cantlay started at 10 below and finished at 21 below.
“Patrick played very well in golf and had four shots ahead. And even though he would have been the best man during the week, he won it,” Rahm said. “This ups and downs after losing the 17th, the second shot of the 18th to almost make it even more impressive.
“I think you can say he won that.”
Rahm won the $ 5 million consolation prize to finish second in the FedEx Cup, while Na (67) won $ 4 million. Justin Thomas (70) watched the last hole to finish fourth, which was worth $ 4 million.
This meant more money for Cantlay.
He won for the fourth time this season – one of those held at the Memorial, when Rahm had to retire after building a six-shot lead after 54 holes due to the positive results of the COVID-19 test – and no one else won more than twice.
A figure that makes him the first PGA Tour Player of the Year player, with Rahm (US Open title, No. 1 ranking) and Collin Morikawa (British Open, World Golf Championship title), also likely that are in the ballot boxes.