TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

September 2, 2021

Patrick Cantlay

East Lake Golf Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Did you accomplish the goal you set out at the start of the day, in your mind?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I think I did. And what goal I really have for this week is being process-oriented and being very present. I think being in the spot that I'm in, it would be easy to get ahead of yourself and easy to maybe stray from your game plan because you feel like you're ahead, and that's just not helpful. So I'm not going to do that. I'm going to stay present and I'm going to stick to my game plan and I'm going to take what the golf course gives me.

Q. (No Microphone.)

PATRICK CANTLAY: Maybe, but I think when you're behind it just shifts your brain a little bit. It's a little bit of a go for broke, a little bit of an urgency, you need to do it now.

Q. On Thursday.

PATRICK CANTLAY: Oh, on a Thursday. The only two times I've played this format I was 8-under and I was 10-under. I haven't played this format, I don't think, a different way.

Yeah, it's kind of weird. But, no, I'm thinking like if I started a Saturday or a Sunday and I'm five or six back. And I think that's how some guys feel. Like, this week starting on Thursday, they feel like, I got to blitz it every day. I got to shoot 66 or lower every day. And that could be an advantage for maybe a couple guys. Maybe not an advantage for everybody because they might press a little bit, or get frustrated, but there's maybe one or two guys that feel like, I'm going for broke and that might help.

Q. I think there's a tendency for smart people to do the opposite of what you just said, which is think ahead, to over-analyze things sometimes. I think you're a pretty smart guy. Do you do anything, head tricks or any kind of meditation or anything like that, to kind of have that focus on the moment mentality?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I do some meditation, but that's part of the process, not necessarily special for this week or anything.

Q. I guess I'm speaking generally.

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I think setting realistic goals for daily, really, realistic goals daily, and like I said, this week the daily goal is to stay process-oriented and stay to the game plan and really stay in the moment, maybe even more so than a normal week. I try to do that every week, but this week it might be just a little more important given where I started.

I think when you give yourself a goal, that's helpful, that you can accomplish day after day, you're going to be in a better spot come tomorrow.

Q. I heard some people will have checklists to have the satisfaction of going through the checklist, you've done all this stuff for today. Do you do that?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I have done that in the past. I think that was one of the tricks I used to really get out of, when I was going through all the really tough times, I actually had a physical white board in my apartment and I would have eight things that I needed to check off for the day and then I would check them all off. I think it's a very powerful tool because it feels like you're gaining on it and it makes you accountable for checking off those eight things, even if it's something...

Q. (No Microphone.)

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yes, exactly. Even if it's something very small like that.

Q. Could you give us some examples of just a couple of them?

PATRICK CANTLAY: No, it was just go to physical therapy, do your exercises, I had a little exercise that I had to do two, three times a day. Go to sleep at a reasonable time. I think when I started playing golf, I added like, do these two putting drills the days that you practice. Or even so much as, like I don't think I wrote this down, but one of my goals at the time was like on off days really being off and not like sneaking to the golf course to hit balls, because that was big for me coming back.

Q. Have any of your goals at any time ever involved a number?

PATRICK CANTLAY: A number?

Q. I heard some guys say their target for the day --

PATRICK CANTLAY: Oh, like a number for the day? Occasionally. Occasionally. I think I talked to Nicklaus a lot about that -- I shouldn't say that. I've talked to Nicklaus quite a lot and a little bit of what we talk about is he would do that. He would look at the leaderboard on Saturday night or something and say, I think I need to shoot 67 tomorrow.

I think it can be helpful because I think it anchors you to that number. So I think that can be a little helpful, like I'm not just out there aimlessly playing golf, I'm trying to get to 67. I think it can be helpful, I wasn't thinking about that today, but I've definitely played tournaments before where Saturday night rolls around and I look at the leaderboard and I go, Okay, 66 has a chance, 64's probably really, really good and if I don't shoot 67, I have no chance.

Q. You came in here with some kind of such other worldly putting. How do you think that stick's treating you right now?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, good, I rolled it really well today. I didn't make any of the long putts like I maybe made some last week, but I hit a bunch of good putts. I hit a bunch of putts with the right speed and I think if I putt again like I did today, some more putts might fall.