Patrick Cantlay had a hot take caught on the mic at the Sentry Tournament of Champions
Patrick Cantlay hasn’t had much trouble with the weather at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, but he had a hot take that got caught on a live mic for those who might not have enjoyed it as much.
Patrick Cantlay is off to a strong start at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, kicking off the new year in style. He’s six-under through two rounds at Kapalua’s famed Plantation Course, just three shots behind leader Xander Schauffele in this winners-only invitational.
While the Hawaiian weather was welcoming for Thursday’s opening round, the island winds blew like crazy through much of the second round on Friday. With “breezes” coming in as high as 40 miles per hour, scores in the second round were all over the place, and conditions were certainly well outside the comfort zones of many players.
All of which brings us to the picturesque 17th tee. Cantlay was two under for the round and moving along smoothly, when the conversation turned to the weather and some plans for the 19th hole. And as things will from time to time, the verbiage got a bit, shall we say, NSFW. (Don’t say you weren’t warned.)
https://www.instagram.com/p/B64ZKl_Boef/
Well…that just about sums it up, doesn’t it? Hard to misinterpret “these pampered f—s need to play”. And, honestly, it’s hard to disagree with a little Mai Tai action after a round.
Golf Twitter exploded after this exchange went viral in the moment. A lot of people seem to think that Cantlay was channeling Golf Channel’s Mark Rolfing, a long-time resident of Maui and a key contributor to Ben Crenshaw and Bill Coore’s recent “rejuventation” of the course.
There wasn’t quite the typical apology for a player’s colorful language that normally accompanies an in the moment profanity, but the announcers on Golf Channel did poke some fun in Cantlay’s direction. Paul Azinger commented on how it appeared that Cantlay wasn’t “staying in the moment” but was “already in the 19th hole in his head.”
Dan Hicks made the most cogent point, saying that players “have to realize there are live mics around, especially when you’re turning into a star player like Cantlay is.”
As for me? Count me in the group who found the comment pretty funny, especially considering the immaculate conditions these players find themselves in basically every single week. Patrick Cantlay hasn’t directly responded to the commentary, nor should he have to. It was an in the moment thing that was probably the continuation of conversation with his caddie, as well as playing partner Jon Rahm, throughout the day.
Sure, guys should probably keep the language more PG-13 for TV purposes, but they’re regular guys on a golf course for four rounds. And some of the most entertaining moments in golf have been when we get a look at these guys in a little less polished, little more unfiltered way.
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Patrick Cantlay was simply being himself, and that’s what I’m here for. More guys could stand to take themselves a little less seriously.