Top 20 players to watch in 2019: No. 20 Patrick Cantlay

Patrick Cantlay is entering his third season on the PGA TOUR in 2019. After taking years to reach this dream, Cantlay’s game is obviously ready to take the next step, making him one of our first players to watch in the new year.

Patrick Cantlay has an “up-and-comer” story that is perhaps one of the longest in professional golf history. His years-long struggle to finally reach his seemingly unlimited potential has also been well documented. The former top-ranked amateur player in the world, Cantlay left UCLA after his sophomore season in 2012 to turn pro, and earned his PGA TOUR membership through the Web.com Tour Finals for 2013-14.

Although injuries and a personal tragedy slammed the brakes on his progress, it never could stop Cantlay in chasing his ultimate dream. He played 13 events in 2017, scoring four top-tens on the way to a TOUR Championship appearance. This past season, Cantlay was even better, with seven top-tens and 15 top-25 finishes against just two missed cuts.

Oh, and it was just 13 months ago when Cantlay reached the winner’s circle on the PGA TOUR for the first time, winning the 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. Last month, he nearly defended that title, and the 26-year-old is proving that good things truly do come to those who wait.

Today, Cantlay is ranked inside the top-20 in the Official World Golf Ranking, and that runner-up finish in Las Vegas has him poised for yet another run at the FedEx Cup Playoffs. But can he keep up this torrid pace when the calendar turns over?

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Sure, the sample size is still fairly limited, but since the start of 2017, Cantlay has made 39 starts on the PGA TOUR, and he has finished in the top-25 in 26 of those. That 66.67 percent rate is higher than that of current World No. 1 Brooks Koepka (25/43). Really, it’s not too far off from Justin Thomas, who is 35-of-50 (70 percent) in that span, including his ridiculous 20-of-23 run in 2018.

Perhaps most importantly, though, Cantlay seems not to be overwhelmed by the speed at which he has returned to the form that was expected of him some five or six years ago. In a recent interview with Golf.com, Cantlay said that his success as an amateur prepared him for the pressures of the pros, as well as acknowledging some of his game’s weaknesses.

"“You can always improve in all areas of the game,” Cantlay said. “I didn’t have a great year putting, but it doesn’t feel that off, so keeping a good mindset and expecting putts to fall is important. Most of the year, it felt like most of my game was on, but I don’t think I had it all going for a stretch of time. I know that’s coming.”"

While that might seem like the kind of thing you’d expect a seasoned pro to say, it also demonstrates the type of self-awareness that today’s younger generation isn’t often given enough credit for. Maybe we’d think differently about Cantlay had he achieved the kind of success early in his career that someone like Jordan Spieth did. But there’s also something to be said for the journey – just ask Brooks Koepka.

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Patrick Cantlay has plenty of room to grow, but he’s proved that he belongs on golf’s grandest stage. As he enters his third full year on the PGA TOUR, I’m looking for Cantlay to translate that into success on an even higher level. Look for at least one or two more victories for the prodigy in 2019.

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