2021 BMW Championship: Top 10 power rankings at Caves Valley

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Jun 18, 2021; San Diego, California, USA; Patrick Cantlay follows his shot from the fifth tee during the second round of the U.S. Open golf tournament at Torrey Pines Golf Course. Mandatory Credit: Orlando Ramirez-USA TODAY Sports /

Death, taxes and top-25s from Patrick Cantlay. He doesn’t seem to contend quite as much as many would want from him, but the guy knows how to post solid scores constantly.

That was the case for the 29-year-old American last week at Liberty National. Cantlay fired 68-67-69-68 to finish T-11th. He was fifth in the field in strokes gained around the green (3.373 total). He’s eighth in that category on the PGA Tour this season (.428 per round).

That was his sixth top-25 in the last seven starts. That span includes his win at the Memorial Tournament. That week was overshadowed by runaway 54-hole leader Jon Rahm’s positive COVID-19 test, but that was also no fault of Cantlay’s.

He’s a proven winner with three previous PGA Tour titles, including another at the Zozo Championship this season, so it was no big fluke.

Cantlay nearly hoisted the BMW Championship trophy in 2019 when he finished solo second and was two shots clear of third place.

The former UCLA standout ranks third in strokes gained tee to green (1.479 per round) and is no worse than 61st in any SG category.

Cantlay has the length to carry a lot of the fairway bunkers at Caves Valley. He’s good out of the rough when needed, coming in at 23rd in proximity this season (41’10”).

At No. 4 in the FedEx Cup, Cantlay is right there to come out on top by the playoffs’ end. At No. 11 in the Ryder Cup standings, he is out of it to automatically qualify, but I like his chances to secure a captain’s pick if he avoids disaster in the last two events.

Having less pressure than other Ryder Cup hopefuls or bubble boys looking to sneak into the top 30 will benefit the already easy-going Cantlay and lift him to a top-10 in Maryland.

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