World No. 4 Patrick Cantlay hasn’t won on the PGA Tour since last August, but he’s confident his time is coming again soon.
Cantlay told reporters Tuesday he was pleased with where his game is at ahead of this week’s Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio.
“I think I’ve done a lot of good in my golf game this year,” Cantlay said. “A lot of parts of my game feel really solid. Just need to have a week where it all kind of matches up and have an above-average week in a couple different categories. That’s usually what it takes to win.
“And sometimes wins can come in bunches. So hopefully that’s the case.”
Cantlay can speak from experience. When he won three tournaments in 2021, he was winless on the season until claiming his second title at the Memorial in early June. He followed that up with consecutive FedEx Cup playoff victories at the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship.
“So if I just keep putting myself in the right spot and keep working hard on my game the wins should come,” Cantlay said.
The 31-year-old from California has had his share of close calls this season. Not only has he made 12 of 13 cuts, he’s finished in the top 10 seven times and landed five top-5s. He’s coming off a T9 at the PGA Championship two weeks ago, where he climbed the leaderboard late with a final-round 66.
Cantlay was asked how he reacts to not winning tournaments.
“It’s frustrating any time you show up to a week and don’t win,” he said. “Because that’s obviously the goal and that’s what you’re prepping and preparing for. And I think after just a little bit of reflection, if you have a close call and you played really well during a week you can at least realize that your game’s in a good spot and take that momentum into an upcoming week.”
While he isn’t likely to shake up his swing or his equipment in search of more titles, Cantlay did make one major change this season when he hired veteran caddie Joe LaCava, the longtime caddie of Tiger Woods. The pair has been working together full-time for about a month now.
“It’s been good so far,” Cantlay said. “Obviously he’s a pro and has seen all the places before. … He’s caddied for a number of great players. So that’s been good. Yeah, I’m sure he’s had a bunch of good weeks around here (the Memorial) and so have I.”
Cantlay won the Memorial in 2019 and 2021, finished tied for third last season and placed fourth in 2018.
Despite never having won a major, Cantlay figures to be one of the favorites at next month’s U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club. Cantlay hails from Long Beach in Los Angeles County and was a star golfer at UCLA.
He said there was no level of “frustration” with his lack of major success so far and, again, he’s sure his time will come.
“Fortunately, my career’s not over yet,” Cantlay said.
–Field Level Media