If you think this week’s FedEx Cup finale in Atlanta is simply all about the extraordinary riches on offer as the usual suspects chase the $10million bonus, then meet 25-year-old Californian, Patrick Cantlay.
Once a more feted amateur golfer than even Rory McIlroy or Jordan Spieth, life and fate took such a grotesque turn it was as if some malevolent spirit was determined to see him fail.
He needed three years away from the game to deal with the physical pain of a career-threatening injury and the emotional anguish of watching his best friend die in his arms following a hit-and-run. But Cantlay has shown a strength of spirit to go alongside his wondrous talent to take his place alongside Dustin Johnson, Spieth and Justin Rose in the 30-man field at East Lake.
Patrick Cantlay will take his place alongside Dustin Johnson and Co in the FedEx Cup finale
Back in 2011, Cantlay was the ultimate can’t-miss kid. Aged just 19, he became the first amateur to shoot 60 in a PGA Tour event and finished in the top 25 in his first four appearances. Back in college he swept the board, and spent over a year as the world’s No 1-ranked amateur.
The problems began almost from the moment he turned pro in 2012. Warming up for an event in Texas, he felt a pain across his back so sharp his first instinct was that someone had stuck a knife in him. He took the rest of the year off after being diagnosed with a stress fracture but the pain returned when he started playing again. So it continued, into the next year and the one after that.
At the beginning of 2016, he was dealing with another demoralising specialist’s verdict when he went for a night out with his closest friend and caddie, Chris Roth. Hopping from one bar to the next, they were crossing a road when Roth was killed by a hit-and-run driver. He was 24.
Cantlay, who’d known Roth since they were at high school together, gave the eulogy at his funeral. ‘It still haunts me when I think about it,’ he says. ‘There are not a lot of words that really describe how upsetting it was. Nothing is ever going to make me feel better about it. Time just heals, or numbs it a little bit.’
However, Cantlay has had to overcome the greatest of battles to get to where he has now
There was no refuge in golf. He visited doctors all over America, even a specialist in Germany, but none could offer a return date. ‘Other than a one-hour physical therapy appointment each day, there wasn’t much point in getting up every morning,’ said Cantlay. ‘People would ask me how I was feeling but the reality was there was one thing I wanted to do and I couldn’t do it.’
Eventually, months of therapy and a new training regimen brought merciful relief. By the start of this year he felt well enough to plan out 10 events granted to him courtesy of a major medical extension.
No wonder they say class is permanent. In only his second start since his break from the game in 2014, he finished runner-up in the Valspar Championship in Florida to regain his full tour privileges.
Cantlay didn’t want to push it. He stuck to his 10 events and reached the final one on Sunday needing a birdie at the par-five 18th hole at the BMW Championship to claim his place in the top 30 to progress to East Lake.
He was once a more feted amateur golfer than even Rory McIlroy or Jordan Spieth
Reaching the green in two, he left the first putt 10 feet short but was not to be denied as the next one disappeared below ground.
Cantlay must have laughed inwardly when someone asked if he’d been nervous over the putt. After what he’d been through?
‘I think everyone knows I was not in a great spot for a few years but I’m pleased to be back and make it to the final event,’ he said. ‘It means I’m in all the majors next year and so I’m going to get a chance to compete with the best on a weekly basis. My body feels good, for a change, so let’s see what happens.’
In theory, he could start by winning the mammoth FedEx bonus on Sunday. But the real bonus is surely that he’s in with a chance at all.
Rory McIlroy will begin his second decade as a pro at the same tournament where he started his first after adding next week’s British Masters to his schedule. McIlroy will also play in the Dunhill Links at St Andrews the following week.
McIlroy will begin his second decade as a pro at same tournament where he started his first
The PGA Cup is the Ryder Cup equivalent for club professionals, and it wasn’t looking too good for Britain and Ireland when they lost the opening fourballs 3-1 at Foxhills. But they fought back so splendidly over the weekend in Surrey they completed something of a rout, losing just one of the 10 singles matches on Sunday for a 16-10 triumph. Captained by Saunton pro Albert MacKenzie, it was the first time GB&I had defended the Cup since it became a biennial match in 1984.
Meanwhile, at Royal Birkdale next week, it will be the turn of a 13-man team representing our injured servicemen who will take on their American equivalents for the Simpson Cup. Among the home team will be the amazing Mike Browne, who lost a leg during the Iraq war and took up golf as part of his rehabilitation. At the age of 39, he is now playing off scratch.