PGA CHAMPIONSHIP

May 17, 2022

Patrick Cantlay

Southern Hills Country Club

Flash Quotes

JULIUS MASON: Patrick Cantlay is joining us at the 104th PGA Championship.

Patrick, a runner-up issue finish in South Carolina and a win in New Orleans. Are you pleased with where your game is right now as you come into Southern Hills?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I'd say it's been a nice couple months' golf for me. My game feels good. I've been working on the right thing. Really looking forward to the week.

JULIUS MASON: What was your familiarly with Southern Hills before this week?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I played the 2009 U.S. Amateur here.

JULIUS MASON: Can you remind of us of your finish, how you played that week?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I shot two rounds in the 80s and went home early.

JULIUS MASON: Thanks for reminding us of that. We'll go to questions, ladies and gentlemen, for Patrick.

Q. We did talk before about how you approach the majors, is there a lot of studying or is it more going with the flow and seeing what happens with you get here?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I'd say it's like most other weeks. Just trying to learn the golf course as well as I can and get comfortable with the sight lines off the tee and learn where to leave the golf ball around greens. I think that's the key to playing big golf courses like this really well.

Q. So based on that, what do you think, what parts of your game are going to work here this week and what do you need to do?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think really important to drive the golf ball in the fairway, like most major championships. The fairways are extremely wide this week, so being able to leave your golf ball in the fairway, it's a lot of drivers. So that's the only way you can really give yourself some chances around this golf course, especially with the small green complexes the way they are.

Q. So you started a tradition of celebrations, a trip to Napa, and then Ryder Cup was celebrated together. After New Orleans was there another big one?

PATRICK CANTLAY: No, we both went our separate ways pretty quick but we are planning to going backup to northern California this year once the season wraps up.

Q. Having such a strong short game, how big a key will that be this week with these run-offs off greens?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I think definitely. Like I was saying earlier, leaving your golf ball in the right spot is the first part of that equation, but definitely, you know, you're not going to be able to hit all greens around this place with as long and as difficult as it plays, especially with the run-offs. If you can leave your golf ball in the right spot, I'm sure you can get up-and-down but it's still a little bit of a challenge with how far the golf ball runs off each and every green when you do miss.

Q. I wanted to ask you about the attention put on great players to win a major. Do you think that's starting at an earlier age in this era?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I'm not sure. I don't know what the media coverage was like before. I know Phil obviously, you know, that was the narrative with him for a long time, and then he knocked off a bunch in his 30s. I think that's just kind of the way that people talk.

I think it almost seems like no matter who it is, it's always something like that. It's hasn't won a major in a number of years, or Jordan has cooled off since he won three in a row. You know, stuff like that.

So I think with everybody there's different narratives, and they always try and pick out where you think this person should have performed a little better. Rarely do you hear the opposite. Maybe the only person you hear the opposite about is Scottie Scheffler right now.

Q. Build off of what Jeff was just asking you, what do you attribute your somewhat spotty record so far in the majors to?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Maybe not enough reps. I think, you know, they are only four times a year, and so you know, I haven't had too many chances in the grand scheme of things. I think you just, you know, sometimes it comes in bunches. I wouldn't be surprised if I played a bunch of major championships really well coming up. So similar to the answer, the long answer I gave at The Ryder Cup, when you have a small sample size, it's really tough to judge critically, but you know, give me a little time.

Q. How much does it bug you that you don't have a major yet; that you haven't really been a factor in many of them?

PATRICK CANTLAY: "Bug me" isn't quite the right term. But definitely something I'm really earnest on trying to fix.

Q. Are you doing anything different this week to change how you prepare or go about your business for a major?

PATRICK CANTLAY: No. I try to treat the majors like, you know, all the rest of the tournaments, prep as good as I can to win the golf tournament and get my game in the right spot to suit that place, and I think I've done a good job of that this week and go see another nine holes tomorrow and try to get even more comfortable on this layout.

Q. Last one from me, very critical one: Did you lose your razor?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I don't think it's lost, but it might be misplaced.

Q. Is this a new look for you?

PATRICK CANTLAY: For this week.

Q. So in the context of majors, is there something that is specific about PGA Championships that you found every time and that is something that you have prepared for? You know that if this is a PGA Championship, these are things you have that prepare for?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I don't think so. The golf courses are so widely different. This golf course is so different to Kiawah and it's so different to Bethpage. I think it's more golf course dependent opposed to major championship dependent.

The only exception would be Augusta because it's the same every year.

Q. And the fact that you have the 100 best players in the worlds, is that a factor?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I think it makes it tougher obviously. But I don't think it changes your approach to trying to play well that week.

JULIUS MASON: Thanks for joining us. Have a great week.