Disaster For Patrick Cantlay, Major Championship Struggles Continue
Patrick Cantlay has disastrous first round at 2022 PGA Championship as rough track record in Majors continues.
Patrick Cantlay is the World’s 5th ranked player, one of the most consistent golfers on the planet, a Ryder Cup star, and last year’s FedEx Cup champion. One thing he is not, however, at least as of yet, is someone who contends in Major championships.
Cantlay has won on some of the most difficult golf courses, including twice at Muirfield Village, so it is a bit puzzling as to why he hasn’t yet had more success in Majors.
The seven-time career winner came into this year’s PGA Championship in as good of form as anyone having won the Zurich Classic team event in his last start alongside Xander Schauffele, and having narrowly missed out on winning at the RBC Heritage where he succumbed to eventual winner Jordan Spieth in a playoff.
It’s no wonder then that Patrick Cantlay was expected to play well this week at Southern Hills, but to the surprise of many, that was certainly not the case during his opening round. Patrick was unable to keep mistakes off his scorecard on Thursday and eight total bogeys look likely to be the end of his week barring something special on Friday. Cantlay signed off with an opening 76 to end what was a disappointing round.
Patrick Cantlay will need to produce something special on Friday if he hopes to be around for the weekend.
Last year’s Memorial winner produced a round that was almost a polar opposite from how he began things at the year’s first Major. Cantlay opened with a 67 at Augusta National last month and got off to a promising start at the Masters before slipping down the leaderboard over the course of his next two rounds on route to a T39 finish. In the end, it was another relatively disappointing finish at the Masters from someone who so much is expected of.
You have to go back to the 2019 Masters to find the last time Cantlay finished inside of the top 10 at a Major, it was later that same year when he produced his best finish in a Major to date, a 3rd place finish at the 2019 PGA Championship held at Bethpage Black.
Patrick was playing better golf than pretty much everyone to end 2021 and even coming into 2022 he ran through his first four starts with four consecutive top 10 finishes, three of which were top 5s. It wasn’t until he came up short in a playoff to one Scottie Scheffler at the WM Phoenix Open that his run of hot form sizzled out.
Next. Would Rickie Fowler’s Decision To Join LIV Golf Tarnish His Reputation?. dark
It is that type of run of results and the one Cantlay had coming into this week why people have lofty expectations of the talented golfer. He himself would undoubtedly expect better than what he has shown this week. Unless he can turn in a spectacular second-round performance at Southern Hills though it will be another Major for Patrick that ends in disappointment.