With the FedEx Cup Playoffs officially getting underway on Thursday, some of the focus has centered on Patrick Cantlay, and rightfully so, given the world-ranked No. 5 golfers won the FedEx Cup in 2021 and is fully expected to compete for the honors again this year.
But this is 2022 golf we’re talking about here, so of course the focus is only partially on whether Cantlay will be the first golfer to ever win back-to-back FedEx Cups. The rest of the focus is squared in on whether he will be the latest pro to defect to the breakaway LIV Golf tour.
Cantlay has been rumored for weeks to be one of the latest golfers to say he won’t join the controversial Saudi Arabia-funded league but then jump ship at the end of the FEC Playoffs. The Long Beach native originally said he “has no plans” to leave the PGA Tour, which has suspended multiple pros for joining LIV Golf.
“My game is in a really good spot,” Cantlay told Golf Digest in late July. “Like I said in some press earlier in the year, I’ve been trying to double down on the process that got me to where I am, not change a whole lot, and just look for small incremental improvements and I think the consistent play I’ve had this year is a testament to that.”
While people’s plans change, it doesn’t sound like Cantlay wants to ditch the PGA Tour, especially with how hard he has worked to get to where he is.
If Cantlay were to win a second consecutive FedEx Cup and then defect to LIV Golf, the criticism would no doubt be relentless. The PGA Tour is currently dealing with multiple LIV golfers complaining about not being able to compete in the FEC Playoffs — LIV Golf doesn’t qualify for world ranking — with three golfers going so far as to file a temporary restraining order so they could compete in the playoffs. The backlash towards these golfers has already been bad, so it’s fair to think that the response to Cantlay leaving the PGA after competing in the playoffs would be even more extreme.
For the time being, Cantlay’s energy appears to be very much centered on winning that second FedEx Cup. His journey to compete for that honor starts Thursday at TPC Southwind, where he will tee off alongside Xander Schauffele and Rory McIlroy at 2:06 pm ET.