Patrick Cantlay

Patrick Cantlay Responds To Pace of Play Criticism After The Masters

PGA Tour star Patrick Cantlay defended criticisms of his pace of play during the final round of the 2023 Masters Tournament Sunday while speaking with the media Wednesday ahead of this weekend’s RBC Heritage.

“We finished the first hole, and the group in front of us was on the second tee when we walked up to the second tee, and we waited all day on pretty much every shot. We waited in 15 fairway, we waited in 18 fairway,” Cantlay said, via Golf Digest. “I imagine it was slow for everyone.

“One thing that’s interesting sitting on the PAC is you get all the numbers and the data, and rounds have taken about the same length of time for the last 10 or 20 years that they currently take. When you play a golf course like Augusta National, where all the hole locations are on lots of slope and the greens are really fast, it’s just going to take longer and longer to hole out.

“I think that may have been what attributed to some of the slow play on Sunday [at the Masters], and then also, when the wind is gusting and the wind is blowing maybe inconsistently, that’s when guys will take a long time, too. I that’s just the nature of playing professional golf, where every shot matters so much.”

Brooks Koepka Takes Not-so-Subtle Shot at Patrick Cantlay

LIV Golf‘s Brooks Koepka, who was paired with eventual winner Jon Rahm, didn’t mention Cantlay by name, but commented on the slow pace of play from the group in front of them. Cantlay and Viktor Hovland were paired together and took four hours and 50 minutes to complete their final round at Augusta National Golf Club.

“The group in front of us was brutally slow,” Koepka said after his 3-over par 75 Sunday. “Jon [Rahm] went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.”

Cantlay, No. 4 in the Official World Golf Ranking, finished 3-under par for the tournament, T14. He entered Sunday in the mix, but stumbled down the leaderboard after posting a 3-over par 75.

The 31-year-old is looking for his first victory at Harbour Town Golf Links on Hilton Head Island. An eight-time winner on the PGA Tour, Cantlay last tasted victory in the BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club on Aug. 21, 2022.