Patrick Cantlay brings reputation of clutch putting and unwanted attention at Ryder Cup

“I knew they were yelling at me,” Cantlay recalled in a recent interview. “I couldn't make out what they were saying. I didn't know anything about the false media story until I was finished playing. I had no idea what was happening. I just knew it was happening.”

The story to which he referred was a report based on anonymous sources by Sky Sports that Cantlay chose not to wear a hat during the Ryder Cup in Rome out of protest for not getting paid. “That's the furthest thing from the truth,” Cantlay said that day.

Lost in the hat-waving was the performance. Cantlay was the prime American target of heckling from fans at Marco Simone during the last fourballs match with Wyndham Clark against Europe's beloved Rory McIlroy and Matt Fitzpatrick.

The Americans were 1 down with three holes to play when Cantlay made a 10-foot putt on the 16th to stay alive, an 8-foot birdie putt on the par-3 17th to square the match and a 45-foot birdie putt on the 18th that won it.

It gave the Americans some hope — but only until Europe won another Ryder Cup — and burnished his reputation as “Patty Ice,” a clutch putter impervious to the moment, whether from pressure, criticism or noise. A lot of noise.

Cantlay was like that at Caves Valley in 2021 during a stunning rally to beat Bryson DeChambeau in the BMW Championship — three clutch putts to end regulation, three more during a six-hole playoff when he never looked like the winner until he won.

He was at it again in the Presidents Cup last year, making an 18-foot putt on the final hole in the dark to win one match, making a pair of 20-footers to halve holes in another win.

“If you had to hand select someone to hit a big putt on your team, I think Pat would come to a lot of people’s minds," said Jim Furyk, the Presidents Cup captain last September and an assistant to Keegan Bradley for this Ryder Cup.

Just don't look for a big fist pump. “Patty Ice” also refers to his emotions. It's usually little more than a pinch of the bill of his hat, assuming he is wearing one.

“The best way to engage a crowd in the Ryder Cup is by making birdies,” he said flatly.

Bethpage Black figures to be a big test on a lot of levels, starting with the noise. The crowd at this public course on Long Island is notorious for being rowdy.

“He does an amazing job of staying focused on what he needs to be a professional the right way, and he’s done that since he was a little kid,” said Jamie Mulligan, his coach since Cantlay was a boy at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, California.

“He grew up in a tour player environment. He was able to see at a young age that guys are able to click in and nothing matters but the shot you’re playing,” Mulligan said. “People think the crowd or the noise of the Ryder Cup gets to him. I don’t think he hears it. The more it rumbles, the more he clicks in on what he’s supposed to do.”

But it's more than just the verbal noise at this Ryder Cup.

The American team is getting a $200,000 stipend this year — there was talk about it all going to charity — feeding into the “Pay for Play” dialogue that first surfaced in 1999. The report from Rome and the hat-waving at Cantlay turned out to be a big focal point.

No chance of it dying out this week, especially when Cantlay showed up Monday for the first day of practice wearing a hat. That is sure to stoke more speculation about his motives.

If he hears about it, odds are he won't care. Nothing seems to get under his skin, and he rarely pays attention, anyway.

“I don't read or spend any time on social media,” said Cantlay, who prefers Ayn Rand or Marcus Aurelius or the Winston Churchill trilogy. “I'm aware that people are on there all the time. I've never been that interested in spending time on that.”

Most fascinating to Cantlay was how an unfounded report in Rome could spread so quickly in one day that it galvanized an entire gallery into hat-waving mocking of him.

European players going into the 2023 matches had singled out Justin Thomas as the one American they would like to beat. Might that be Cantlay this time around?

“I'm not sure,” Cantlay said. “I don't spend too much energy thinking about that stuff.”

Cantlay has said the hat wasn't a good fit. Often overlooked was that he didn't wear a Ryder Cup hat at Whistling Straits in 2021, or at the Walker Cup in 2011. There have been a number of Ryder Cups where McIlroy or Phil Mickelson didn't wear one.

Inside the ropes is the real test for Cantlay. While he nearly won the Tour Championship last month, Cantlay still has gone three years since his last win. He had to rely on a captain's pick for the first time. That he got one was not a surprise given his reputation in match play.

“He cares deeply about winning a point,” Mulligan said. "The interesting thing about the Ryder Cup is everyone thinks it was about money why he didn't wear the that. At the end of the day, it's the opposite of that. It's not that a trophy isn't cool or a check isn't cool. You're playing with your friends against guys you want to beat really bad.

“He does a good job locking in on that, and it's fun to watch.”

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