Patrick Cantlay collects 5th PGA Tour win at BMW Championship
It may have taken a little longer than scheduled, but Patrick Cantlay added another trophy to his collection this weekend.
The former UCLA men's golfer went toe-to-toe with Bryson DeChambeau at the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club, and the two posted a back-and-forth Sunday that topped nearly any other this summer. By the time the pair reached the back nine, they had already separated themselves from the pack. The only issue was that once they had finished 72 holes, they hadn't separated from each other.
Cantlay and DeChambeau played six playoff holes, with Cantlay eventually emerging victorious. The win was Cantlay's fifth since he joined the PGA Tour in 2012 and second of the summer, as he won his second career Memorial Tournament in early June.
After besting DeChambeau by one stroke in the third round, Cantlay entered Sunday at the BMW tied with his competitor at -21. The duo didn't just trade spots on the leaderboard throughout the day though, they also traded words and big-time putts.
DeChambeau held a one-stroke lead heading into 14. He set up for his approach, looking to create some distance between him and Cantlay, but the former Bruin ironically got too close for DeChambeau's comfort. Before entering his backswing, DeChambeau saw Cantlay walking behind him and blurted out a disgruntled, "Patrick, can you stop walking?"
Cantlay said after the round the exchange was no big deal, and he was simply trying to adhere to the rules officials' request to speed up play, but the way he finished up 14 may suggest he took DeChambeau's shoutout personally.
While it didn't help him earn any ground on DeChambeau, who also birdied the hole, Cantlay sank a 22-foot putt that kept him in the running for the win.
DeChambeau held onto the one-stroke lead all the way until the 18th hole, which he parred. Cantlay needed to birdie to force a playoff, and that's exactly what he did, again perfectly striking a 22-foot putt.
The playoff itself boasted enough drama to fill a full round – DeChambeau missed a 6-footer for the win on the second, then went in the water on the fourth, but salvaged a tie thanks to a clutch up-and-down from 150 yards out. Cantlay had an 18-foot putt for all the marbles on the sixth playoff hole, and he once again sank the deep shot when it mattered most.
Cantlay leapfrogged DeChambeau in the World Golf Rankings with the win, jumping from No. 10 to No. 4 as DeChambeau fell from No. 6 to No. 7, and he extended his lead over him in the FedExCup Standings by taking over first place from Tony Finau.
Cantlay also secured himself a spot on the United States' Ryder Cup team with his performance. The latest rendition of the Ryder Cup was supposed to take place in September 2020, but it was pushed to September 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The 2021 Ryder Cup will tee off Sept. 24, with Cantlay currently set to compete alongside Collin Murikawa, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas and even DeChambeau against Team Europe.
Cantlay played at UCLA in 2011 and 2012 and won both the Pac-10 Player of the Year and Jack Nicklaus for national player of the year his freshman season.
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