#patrickcantlay #bmwchampionship #fedexcupplayoffs #pgatour #putting
Patrick Cantlay confirmed he’s now working with putting coach Phil Kenyon—“I’ll do anything to make a few more putts.”
Speaking ahead of the BMW Championship, he also weighed in on the Tour Championship reset at East Lake, saying the old starting-strokes system “felt goofy” and backing a level-start, winner-takes-all finale that still rewards season-long play.
Yeah, it was uh one of the longest Sundays of my career with that six-hole playoff and uh it was a hot week, so we were glad to be finished. Um I played really well and made a bunch of putts that week and and anytime you’re playing golf and you make that many putts outside 20 ft, it’s it’s really fun. Talk a little bit about the state of your game. You’re number 19 in the FedEx Cup uh as we approach East Lake. Yeah, uh coming off a decent week last week. Pretty solid play uh all in all. So, I’ve been doing a lot of good work and and feel like my game’s uh headed in the right direction. All right, great. We’ll open it up to questions. If you’ll raise your hand, we we’ll start with Paul right here in the middle. Pat, obviously a couple weeks to go in the season, but just holistically as you look at the year, you’ve obviously had some consistent play. Majors maybe a little bit more disappointing. How do you kind of square when you’ve been consistent outside those tournaments and then when you get there they just haven’t maybe gone the way you wanted? Yeah, I think I’ve had, you know, some good weeks. It hasn’t been one of my better years. Um but, you know, like you said, there’s still a couple weeks left. And in golf, um you’re usually defined by your best weeks. So, uh I’m just going to keep putting in really hard work and and stick to the process that I’ve been doing each and every day. And um you know, let the results uh take care of themselves. All right. Yeah. Let’s go right over here on the right and then we’ll move Patrick Pete Gilbert with WB TV here in Baltimore. You know, I know they have done a lot to try and make sure that 27 under is not a score that’s attainable again this week and now it’s a par 70 of course instead of 72, but I don’t know if you’ve gotten out on the course yet. Impressions and see does it feel any different than what you saw four years ago? Yeah, I’ve only played nine holes so far. So, um I’ve only seen half the holes. uh it’s much different and it’s in very good shape and like you say obviously with it being par 70 that’s an easy way to uh make it play closer to par. All right let’s go right here in the front and then over to Doug you you mentioned um like looking toward kind of the the week still to come in the season and your practice round that play you played with with with Keegan today, right? So are you as you kind of get up to the buzz or if you’re able to look look ahead to that for RER Cup stuff, is that something on your mind and you know what would playing in an atmosphere like that be like if if you’re looking for it? Yeah, I think uh that’s definitely something where I’m just focused at the task at hand and and worrying about these two weeks to to close out the season and then once the season’s over then my mind will kind of shift towards that if that’s you know in the cards for me. Um Keegan and I play a lot at home, so it’s just a kind of a normal Tuesday. All right, let’s go to Doug right here and then over to Adam. Two things. Would would you pick yourself for the RDER Cup? And if so, why? Fortunately, that’s not uh I’m not in that predicament. Keegan, however, is in that predicament. Um I’ll tell you, if I was the captain, I’d pick I’d pick Keegan. I think he’s played great. Team regardless, not regardless. I mean, I think it’s, you know, it’s a he has a lot of responsibility that week and so, uh, if he feels that he can, you know, play golf like a normal week given all his other responsibilities, I’m just saying that, um, you know, if I was the captain and I was thinking, I think he’s definitely one of the best American players and his results have have shown that. And lastly, what did you do in Memphis last week that had been lacking? Um, I think I drove the ball uh in in the fairway a little bit more last week on a golf course where it’s really important to uh drive the ball on the fairway and uh you know, it’s a course I’ve played I’ve played well at over the years and so just a comfortable place for me. All right, let’s go Adam and then Paul. Do you do you think you’ve done enough so far to show that you’re ready to play on that team? Yeah, I think it’d be nice to go out the next two weeks and and have some nice finishes and play well. Um, you know, after last week, I feel like I have some momentum going in the right direction and I feel really good about the things I’m working on in my game. Have you added a new coach? Yeah, I started working with Phil Kenyon uh recently and, you know, we’re just in the early stages, so hopefully, you know, I’ll do anything to make a few more putts. And one more if you don’t mind. I I remember one of the memories of of this place last time was all that energy around from the fans, but you get the nickname Patty Ice. What do you remember about that? Yeah, it was uh you know, I was surprised when I first heard it and I just kind of heard it uh on the weekend um for the for the first time really that tournament and I think it had to do with me making all those all those putts. Uh you know, some of them I even surprised myself with how many putts I was making. Um, yeah, it was it was a lot of fun. I mean, anytime anytime we get to play golf in an environment like that, I mean, it’s the best. Have that name stuck? Uh, I think a a little bit. Yeah, I hear it. I still hear it from from time to time out there. All right, let’s go Bob and then Paul. Patrick, you said you play with Keegan a lot. You know, you play practice rounds with about here. So, does the Ryder Cup come up or is it awkward at all or is it just sort of the elephant in the room and you don’t discuss it? No, like I said, we you know, have played a lot uh especially at home. So, um there’s not much rider cup talk when you’re out there on on Tuesday just uh you know playing nine holes with a friend. All right, Paul. And then Doug, just two questions on the course. Five was kind of change. Did you see the pro back today? I just saw the back today. So, I haven’t seen the front line yet. Been on 18 in particular. I think that hole last time played it as the hardest hole in the golf course. You obviously saw it a lot both in the tournament and then in the playoffs. What about that hole makes it, you know, difficult? Yeah, it’s a hole where you have to put the ball in the fairway. Uh I think they made the fairway a little narrower uh from the last time we were here. And um you know, it’s long and straight uphill. So, if you hit two good shots, you’re going to have a birdie look. Anything other than that, uh, you’re probably scrambling for a part. Let’s go back to Doug. I have two questions, Pat, if I could. Of course. If you could measure how much time you devote to your role on the board, um, what’s your where you at now in terms of how much time has you been devoting or how much time it took of yours? Are you in kind of a lull right now? Yeah, I think it’s it’s question. Sorry. No, that’s all right. I think it’s uh I think it’s less now than it was. And I think that’s just kind of natural for, you know, a board. I think there’s going to be es and flows. Sometimes the workload’s going to be more, sometimes the workload’s going to be less. And compared to the last couple years, I would say at this point, we’re in a in a less uh moment in time. And then as it relates to next week, do you know for sure if you’re in next week no matter how you play? I’m not sure. um John but I I you know I think with the actually with the nature of the points it has a lot to do with how the rest of the field finishes. Okay. So you know if if players if if if players like what 31 to 42 all finish in the top 12 then that would be different than a normal Gotcha. You know what I mean? Yep. Um, as it relates to next week, um, do you do you like what they’ve done and what did you not like about the starting strokes? Assuming you didn’t like it? Yeah, I I think uh, you know, it the starting strokes was tough just because we don’t play any tournaments like that and so it was kind of it felt goofy from a competitive point of view. I think you heard a lot of guys uh, say something similar. So, I think this is definitely an improvement and a step in the right direction, but you’ve lost an from my perspective, it looks like you’ve lost an advantage from playing really good golf rank season and and even into the playoffs. So, uh you’re you’re saying if you were one of the top FedEx cup finishers, yeah. Um shouldn’t you have one? It depends how you how you you know think of the think of the competition. And I think you could make the argument both ways. Um, you know, in other sports a lot of times the championship game, you know, the team that had the best regular season record doesn’t get a a head start in the finals or anything like that. And so, you know, I think having it be like most all the other big tournaments that we play and that everyone starts, you know, at level and the player who plays the best that week wins. I I think that’s uh fine for one of the biggest championships that we play out here. And then lastly, and then I’ll I’ll hang up and listen. What is the FedEx Cup? Because when you have a basically a free-for-all at East Lake, is it the season one champion? I think it is uh with a you know huge emphasis on the last week because you can’t you can’t get to the last week without playing well all year. Um so I do think it’s a seasonl long champion. It just uh has even more of an emphasis on on the tournament that week. All right, back to Adam. Patrick, you had one of the great putting weeks of your career, you know, here when you won that tournament. What has been the difference between say that week versus making this decision that you wanted to hire a putting coach? Um, you know, that was five four years ago. So, you know, a lot can change in in 3 four years. Uh, especially in this game. Um, and you know, I think anything, like I say, anything I can do to just get a little better and whether that’s a technique change or um, you know, some little key here and there that I can pick up on. Um, you know, I’m going to I’m going to try and explore that to see if I can get better. I mean, that’s that’s really the the root of of the change. What are you trying to eliminate? Is there trying to eliminate? you are you missing do you have a push or what a certain range that you’re trying to seek improvement at? No, nothing in particular. Um, you know, I I’d like to I’d like to make more putts and um, you know, a lot of that at our level has to do with reading the greens and matching speed and line. And so having somebody who’s, you know, an expert eye at that um, can only be helpful. All right, let’s go right here on the right. Yeah, Pat, going back to that that putting day in 2021, you what’s it like to be in that zone? And does the crowd do the making putts beget the crowd and then does it keep spiraling off that way or that influence you at all? And just what’s it like being in a zone where my god like does it really look that big to hole like 3 ft wide? Yeah, I think uh when you start hauling putts, you kind of that confidence builds on itself and um you know it you start to have an expectation of the putts going in. Um and then I would say that combined with with uh the way the tournament played out in that we were separated from the rest of the field. Um, and I kind of needed to make all those putts, you know, coming down the stretch over and over again with basically no ramifications cuz we were only playing for, you know, first at that point. Um, you get into a spot where, you know, putts are do or die. It’s it’s a little easier to to be really free and just try and hold everything. All right, Doug, do you mind me coming back to this just one more time? No. If you take Bruce someone like yourself Yeah. Yeah, he’s not had his best year, but not terrible. But, uh, and you get into East Lake next week and and, uh, and you win. Are you the season long champion for winning one tournament? Yeah. I mean, that’s right. You’re definitely the the FedEx Cup champion. Um, and I I think it at this point if you play the whole year and get into the last, you know, the tour championship with the guys who have played the 30 best guys who have played the best golf all year and you beat them, you know, that week with everything on the line, I mean, that’s a huge accomplishment. The last one, a hypothetical, which you probably hate, but if you look at the at the four majors, they’re the ones you you’d love to win, I’m assuming. Where would you put the Players Championship and the FedEx Cup of what you’d like to win? What would be more important to you to win? Players championship or the FedEx Cup? Yeah, I think they’re they’re right they’re right there next to each other. I mean um you know the players has a distinct uh place because it’s the toughest tournament to win. it has the best field um you know in professional golf and so if you win the players it’s maybe the biggest accomplishment from a a level of golf point of view um and what’s that field I guess would matter as well yeah it just has the historically it’s had the strongest field of any tournament in golf um and you know the tour championship’s a little bit of a different animal cuz it rewards that seasonl long play to even get into the tournament and then now you have to play, you know, excellent golf to win. So, I think anytime you’re you’re beating the best players in the world, um, you know, it’s a huge accomplishment. Anything for us? Any We’re asking questions. You have anything for us? We’ll wrap right here with Paul. Uh, this isn’t pertaining specifically to Phil, but when you make an addition or a change in your team, I know obviously you’re someone who sticks to a routine, you know, kind of has a tight-knit group. Like how do you decide when it’s right to to do something like that to to make a change? Is it just you wake up one day and you decide or like how does it how do you realize, hey, it’s gotten worse enough or it’s something’s gotten good enough that I need to do something like how do you make that decision in your head? Yeah, I think it’s something that, you know, at least on my team we’re doing all the time. Is there something else we can do to get a little better um in all areas? And so, um, you know, that’s a lot of talks with people on on my team. Um, and we’re doing that kind of in in every area. And so, this addition of bringing Phil on recently, um, felt like a really good fit and everyone on my team supported it and thought it’d be good. All right, Patrick, as always, thank you for All right. All right. All right.
