Patrick Cantlay has once again been forced to defend his pace of play on the PGA Tour, insisting he’s not the cause of any speed issue despite recent criticism.
The world No.4 has long been known as one of the slower, if not slowest, players on Tour, but the issue was highlighted last month when he played in the penultimate group on Masters Sunday.
The final group of Jon Rahm and Brooks Koepka took nearly five hours to complete their round, with a number of long waits behind Cantlay who was reading putts on the green.
READ MORE
Golf villain image confirms a grim reality as shock Woods split sparks fresh fears
‘KICKED MY BUTT’: Day reveals true reason behind Masters meltdown amid subtle LIV swipe
‘NO OTHER OPTION’: Golf’s ‘sad day’ confirmed as historic call rocks Ryder Cup
“That group in front of us was brutally slow,” Koepka said after the round. “Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round and we were still waiting.”
Speaking ahead of this weekend’s Wells Fargo Championship, Cantlay was drawn on the topic again.
And once more, he was sure that his pace of play is not an issue, and that any problem lies elsewhere.
Masterful Mickelson sinks 5 huge birdies | 03:07
“If you really wanted to make guys play faster, you would put the tees up and you would put easier hole locations and the greens would roll at 10 if you really wanted it to, and you hope it never blew more than 10 miles an hour,” he said.
“When you get really tricky days and the greens are really fast and the hole locations are on lots of slope, it’s going to take a longer time to play.”
He added: “But like I’ve said before, rounds on Tour have pretty much taken the same amount of time for a number of years now and I don’t think they’re going to set up the golf course in a way, like I said, to make rounds, you know, go a lot faster.”
Cantlay also pointed to last week’s Zurich classic where he finished his final round about 24 minutes ahead of schedule.
It’s important to note, however, that it was a team event and Cantlay played his final round alternating shots with Xander Schauffele.
Cantlay has been unapologetic about being a slow player, admitting during the Zurich: “I’m definitely slower than average, have been my whole career.
“I definitely take my time.”
Meanwhile, as Tiger Woods recovers from another surgery, caddie Joe LaCava is joining forces with Cantlay, starting at this week’s PGA Wells Fargo Championship at Quail Hollow.
LaCava has caddied for Woods since 2011, and was on the bag when Woods won his 15th major championship at the Masters in 2019.
It wasn’t immediately clear if his decision to accept a full-time job with Cantlay was an indication that Woods won’t return in 2023, after announcing last month he had surgery to address pain in his damaged right leg.
“When I reached out to Joe, he said it was possible and it ended up working out and I’m really happy about it,” Cantlay said Wednesday at Quail Hollow in Charlotte, North Carolina.
— With AFP
