MASTERS TOURNAMENT

April 4, 2022

Patrick Cantlay

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Very pleased to introduce Patrick Cantlay.

Patrick, welcome to your sixth Masters. Patrick has had a sensational year since the last Masters, capped off certainly by a victory at THE TOUR Championship. This year you've had several top five finishes and would appear to be coming into this week in strong form.

Patrick, could you tell us a bit about your preparations for this week and walk us through what you're doing to prepare for Thursday?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I think I just got in this morning, so I'll go see the golf course, probably nine holes every day. Looks like there's a couple changes, three or four of the greens are different this year, so spend a little extra time on these greens. Other than that, it will just be prep as normal.

Q. Regarding those changes, what do you do in advance to educate yourself, or do you just try to go on what you see when you get out there?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I came up a couple weeks ago and spent a little extra time on the greens that were new. I think that's all what it is. I think this place, with the changes that they do every year, unlike some others, you can't really putt from memory. You have to keep updating your memory because the green, for example, on 18, is different than it was three or four years ago.

So just knowing that, you have to maybe be a little more cognizant and not just go to default of what you remember.

Q. How has your life changed since winning THE TOUR Championship, and did you have the Coke machine? What did you do with that?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, the Coke machine is in the gym at my house, and, you know, other than that, life has not changed too much. I'd say, you know, I still wake up every day and I'm trying to be the best person I can and trying to golf as best I can, and that occupies a lot of my brain space, and that's how it was before last year, as well.

Q. If you try to prepare yourself and treat each tournament equally, is it difficult to do here, just based on the way things go, the space that's created, your treatment, the fact that you're not wearing a hat right now, little things like that?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think trying to make it the same all the time is helpful. I will definitely note that there is added importance this week, and I think everybody in the field knows that, and that's no different than the other majors and Ryder Cup. And with the amount of tournaments I play, that's roughly 20 percent of the schedule or some -- definitely in the teens.

So I don't know if there's too much different than normal, but you're definitely -- you're definitely cognizant of making sure that all your ducks are in a row a little more than a regular week.

Q. Given your success and last year, the momentum and carrying it forward, how challenging is that to stay right up there in terms of mindset as well as we come into this huge week of golf?

PATRICK CANTLAY: You know, I don't think past successes make it more difficult in the future. I think it makes it easier. I think being able to draw on those past experiences and being able to perform on big stages only bodes well for big stages in the future.

And so I try to remind myself of the good things I've done, and when I do get in those moments, keep bringing up those -- those past experiences of what it felt like.

I think having a caché of experiences like that only helps you going forward.

Q. If I could ask, Tiger Woods' potential return to the sport this week, what's your take on that? What would it mean to the sport, and how has he inspired players like you over the years?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think seeing him being so far superior to most any golfer since Nicklaus, naturally you become inspired by that type of performance and dedication to the mastery of anything.

So for someone that's dedicated most of their life to playing golf as well as I can, seeing someone who has come as close as anyone else to mastering the game, I think that's admirable.

I think he's a good example of life's not always perfect, and so it's really exciting to see him on his highs. And so I hope that he is able to tee it up this week and play well, and obviously that's the greatest thing for our sport. There's definitely a different feel in tournaments that he tees it up in.

Q. The players are feeling that buzz of anticipation?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I would say, yeah, everyone's excited about it. You know, even last week hearing the potential for him to play was exciting to the guys.

Q. Back to the golf course and your visit here a few weeks ago. Your impressions of the 11th hole, new tee shot, new landing area and some of the changes around the green, outside the green?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Right. It won't play too different if you hit a good drive and hit it in the middle of the green, which is what everyone's trying to do on that hole, anyway.

I think if you got it downwind, you could see guys maybe hit it further down there, just because of how it seems to almost come in on both sides and then go down the hill a little more, and there's, you know, probably a wider landing area. So guys may try and hit a little more of a stock shot, as opposed to before it felt like you had to maybe hit a little fade off that tee.

So all in all, I don't think it will play too different, but if anything, they made it just a little tougher.

Q. You were just on the putting green with Tiger. I saw you guys share a moment. What was that like to see him back out there trying to get into the swing of things again?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, great to see him. I'm sure he's been preparing hard the last little bit, and living in Jupiter, heard rumblings when I would go to Medalist that he had been out there, so that's really exciting.

I just said it was good to see him. Obviously got to know him better than I ever had at Presidents Cup, and we all had a really nice time there in Australia. It was good to see him, although it feels like we don't get to see him enough out here.

Q. Growing up in Virginia, were you practicing or having a contest on the putting green with your brother or your dad trying to win the Masters? Was that the major you most thought about?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I would say most everybody feels like the Masters is the tournament they want to win the most.

I think part of that is where you win your tournaments somehow feels important, and the fact that it's here every year makes the history of the event a little more elevated.

Everyone remembers what each winner did on each hole the year that they won. So that bit of nostalgia makes this tournament what it is.

Q. What's your earliest memory of watching the event?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Hard to say. I don't have one specific memory, but I can definitely remember, you know, my family would get together and watch the Masters all growing up. My family is a golfing family, so we would get together with my grandparents and watch the Masters every year when I was very little.

Q. Were you able to watch it the years that you were hurt, or was it too tough?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Oh, yeah, I watched golf while I was hurt. Yeah, I mean, all my contemporaries, all the guys I played junior golf with were out there winning, winning tournaments, winning major, winning big events. It was fun to watch those guys who I knew play so well and win tournaments.

Q. That's the word you used, it was fun to watch?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, better than watching people I don't know out there (smiling). Obviously it wasn't ideal and it definitely fueled a little bit of -- fueled me to get back to playing. I definitely didn't shy away from watching while I was hurt.

Q. Given this is the only -- the one major, same course we keep coming back to, and your sample size is moderate at this point, do you tend to have -- to think more on the good memories or the bad ones here?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Definitely good. I think I really like the golf course, and, you know, I think it's really good for my game.

And so I'm excited. Every time I come here, I think it's always in great shape. And the more reps you get at this golf course and the more experience that you can build, I think that helps you each and every year down the road.

Q. Like when you come to 15, do you think about the shot you hit in 2019?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Sometimes, yeah, and if the pin would be over there, and, you know, coming down on Sunday, I think experiences like that really can aid you.

I think, you know, just growing up and knowing so much about the golf course, it gives you a picture of what you want to do when you get there. You can think about all the shots that not only you've played on that hole but other guys have played on that hole.

That's just one of the coolest things about this place.

Q. One last thing if you don't mind. Do you ever do any shopping here, and how much money do you usually spend, if at all?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I don't. I leave that up to family members to do.

Q. Have you ever bought anything from here?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I bought a sweater once. It was cold. I came up to play a round with some buddies, and it was colder than I expected one morning. I bought a cashmere sweater. I've still got it.

Q. It's been ten years since you were Low Am. What's your reaction to that passage of time? Does it make you feel older? What's your best memory of that week?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, it definitely does. It feels like an extra long time ago because of the break that I had.

So, yeah, thinking back on that, I was definitely a lot younger and thought everything just felt more wondrous, like Disneyland, coming here. I remember that.

And just being able to spend the week with -- my friends came down from college and my family was here and my grandparents were here, and getting to spend time with Jamie that week and just feeling like a lot of work that I had done in junior golf and high school golf had, like, paid off. It was like a treat.

THE MODERATOR: Thank you for your time today, and we hope you create some great memories this week.