Patrick Cantlay has come a long way since a severe back injury put his tour pro career on hold and watching his caddie die in a hit-and-run accident. The UCLA star and former world No. 1 amateur has persevered, and Sunday in Las Vegas served as a hard-earned reward.
Cantlay won the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in a two-hole playoff with Alex Cejka and Whee Kim. That first PGA Tour victory is always sweet, but especially for a determined 25-year-old player who has endured back problems that sidelined him for months at a time.
“I knew that I’d be able to get to where I wanted to be if I felt healthy,” Cantlay said. “If I felt like I didn’t have pain and I could practice and prepare for tournaments. I know how to practice and prepare for tournaments, so I can do what I want. I feel like I can play well and compete with anybody.”
That’s certainly been true this year. Cantlay qualified for the Tour Championship after playing in only a dozen events. Maybe now he has turned the corner in what many predicted would be a meteoric pro career. With the Shriners win and a two-year tour exemption, Cantlay is looking forward to playing in all four majors in 2018.
“There’s not a lot of give up in me,” Cantlay said in Las Vegas. “I never really thought about giving it up. I thought maybe there was a chance my back would never feel good enough to play again. But, fortunately, I feel great.”
Firing a final-round 67 in windy conditions at TPC Summerlin, Cantlay putted well on Sunday with his Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS Prototype putter. It included an exquisite lag putt from 71 feet on the 18th that set up a tap-in par for the playoff victory over Cejka and Kim.
Cantlay is a Titleist man throughout his bag. Here’s a look at his clubs.
Patrick Cantlay’s Clubs
Driver: Titleist 917D2 (9.5 degrees) with Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana Blue 73X shaft
3-Wood: Titleist 915F (15 degrees) with Mitsubishi Chemical Diamana Blue S+ 70X shaft
Hybrid: Titleist 816H2 (21 degrees) with Fujikura Speeder Evolution HB 95X shaft
Irons: Titleist 714 AP2 (4-PW) with True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100 shafts
Wedges: Titleist Vokey Design SM5 (54 degrees) True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shaft
Titleist Vokey Design SM6 (56 and 60 degrees) True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400 shafts
Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 GSS Prototype
Neil Sagebiel
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