’One of the great 72nd-hole blowups’: Golf superstar’s ‘nightmare’ gifts 20yo gun win

’One of the great 72nd-hole blowups’: Golf superstar’s ‘nightmare’ gifts 20yo gun win

On Sunday, Patrick Cantlay missed a birdie putt on 18 that would have seen him shoot a course record 59 at the PGA Shriners Children’s Open in Las Vegas.

A day later, Cantlay, the world No.4 and someone who has won seven times since 2019, had a triple bogey on 18 to let an eighth victory slip through his fingers. Australian Jason Day finished eighth, shooting an eight-under final round to soar up the Leaderboard and finish at 18-under.

The 30-year-old former FedEX Cup champion approached the 72nd hole in a share of the lead alongside Tom Kim at 24-under.

Then the wheels fell off, as his driver went left and was wedged in some thick bush.

“Can you believe he just did that, can you believe that, Trevor?” Terry Gannon asked his co-host Trevor Immelman.

“Wow, what a shock,” Immelman replied. “He’s been driving the ball on a string. 

“He’s leading strokes gained off the tee, only missed 11 fairways the whole week and then all of a sudden out of the blue he hits that snap hook.”

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On-course commentator Aaron Oberholser didn’t mince his words, suggesting Cantlay had no shot and needed to take his own medicine and cop a drop. 

“If that is it, that’s not good,” he said. 

“That is definitely in a spot where he cannot play it, by my estimation. Any swing is a risky play.”

Cantlay took a swing, but his attempts to bunt the ball out onto the fairway came back to bite him.

“Did it even come out? Nightmare,” Gannon said.

Eventually, he took a drop.

It meant the usually rock solid American was playing his fourth shot, while Kim cooly waited out in the middle of the fairway. 

Compounding the error, Cantlay attempted to clear the water trap but his ball flicked the tops of the shrubs and failed to carry.

“This is something else. It’s hard to believe watching this,” Gannon said.

Extraordinarily, Cantlay drained the putt to finish tied second.

Tom Kim is congratulated by Patrick Cantlay after winning the Shriners Children’s Open at TPC Summerlin on October 09, 2022 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Photo: Getty ImagesSource: Getty Images

It left Kim, 20, a simple two-putt as the South Korean celebrated his second victory on tour.

Speaking to reporters following the final hole horror-show, Cantlay did not hide his disappointment.

“The last hole makes the whole week kind of sour,” he said.