2022 BMW Championship: Top 10 Power Rankings at Wilmington CC
Patrick Cantlay made the cut at last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship to avoid losing much ground in the playoff standings headed to the BMW Championship.
A T-57th in Memphis only dropped him from fifth to seventh. Cantlay got off to a good start with 67-68 but couldn’t break par on the weekend to make a push up the leaderboard.
He was 15th in the field for the week in strokes gained around the green (2.109). Unfortunately, that short game was called upon a bit too much to be in contention.
It snapped an impressive streak of six straight top-14 finishes, three of which were in the top four. Cantlay has yet to win individually this season, but he and Xander Schauffele did team up to win the Zurich Classic of New Orleans in April.
Cantlay is the reigning BMW Championship champ.
He defeated Bryson DeChambeau in a playoff last year at Caves Valley.
The 30-year-old out of UCLA ranks 12th in total strokes gained per round (1.558). He’s got a well-rounded game to adapt well to all sorts of courses. That will help at a new track this week in Wilmington Country Club.
Cantlay also ranks fourth in birdie average (4.53). The PGA Tour often sets up the BMW Championship somewhat challenging, but benign conditions this week could lead to a birdie fest.
He’s a lock for the Tour Championship next week and the American Presidents Cup team. The major championship season didn’t go his way this year, but he can close his year out strong with a push to defend his 2021 FedEx Cup crown.