TOUR CHAMPIONSHIP

August 23, 2022

Patrick Cantlay

East Lake Golf Club

Press Conference

Q. Maybe a few comments after defending your title at the BMW Championship and getting here to Atlanta to try to defend your FedExCup title.

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I'm excited, coming back to a golf course that I like and obviously have some recent success on. It's nice to come into this tournament with a chance to win, being up near the top of the staggered start, although this year should be a different challenge than last year considering I'm two behind as opposed to two ahead.

Q. What's it like to play on this course with so much at stake?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, it's fun, the only difference is starting the tournament ahead, I think, adds a little bit of pressure that guys don't usually feel, teeing off on a Thursday or a Friday. But that's one of the new challenges to this week.

Q. What do you think of the scoring system? Do you like it? Fan of it?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I've talked before about it. I'm not a fan. I think there's got to be a better system, although frankly I don't know what that better system is.

Q. Matt Fitzpatrick mentioned maybe match play.

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, it seems like there's almost limitless options. I wouldn't opine on that.

Q. In your mind how many times do you feel like you've won out here, considering you've been the low guy, had the low aggregate score and not won --

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I've never had the low aggregate score here. In fact, I've played pretty poorly here in general other than last year. You might be thinking of Xander. He's won the aggregate a couple times but never the FedExCup. I would say just the once. Last year feels like a win, considering everyone is just trying to post a low total even with the staggered start, and the feelings were the same. I didn't even know where I was compared to the rest of the field as far as aggregate scoring for the week.

Probably just the once.

Q. In some ways do you find it almost easier to come in here a couple shots behind, being the chaser rather than the chased?

PATRICK CANTLAY: No, I'd take as much of a handicap as they'd give me.

Q. Do you still have your Patty Ice jersey?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I'm sure it's in the closet somewhere.

Q. You had a good practice round today with J.T., Xander and Spieth. Do you guys usually play together in a practice round?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, Xander and I take Jordan and JT on a few times during the year when our schedules match up. JT sometimes like to go zero-dark-30 in the morning, but it's fun to get a little competitive on a Tuesday or Wednesday, nice little Presidents Cup practice doing it with Xander.

Q. I was going to say, is there a little extra incentive for the Presidents Cup coming up? Did you guys mention that out there?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, Xander and I play a lot together, and it's nice on a Tuesday to be on the same team.

Q. Who got the best of each other together?

PATRICK CANTLAY: We just clipped them.

Q. What's the course conditions like? What's the rough like?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I'd say obviously this course is one of the best-conditioned golf courses we come to all year. Seems like every year it's in perfect shape. Seems like it's a lot wetter this year. The fairways are long, and I don't think they've been cut just due to the softness.

But if the weather holds off and doesn't rain too much, I'm sure it'll firm up every day.

Q. Has that Bermuda gotten a little thicker with all the rain?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I wouldn't say. It's about normal compared to past years. This place seems to always be the same year after year after year. The only different is how much rain we get.

Q. There's reports that have been leaking out about the meeting last week, smaller fields, bigger purses. How do you feel --

PATRICK CANTLAY: I'm not really going to talk details on that. I don't think anything has really been decided yet, so I don't want to speak out of turn on that.

Q. Not speaking specifically about proposals, but do you think changes need to be made to freshen the brand?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think anything that's better for viewers and trying to attract the most amount of viewers to bring them into the fold of golf and get them excited about golf, I think that would be a good thing.

Q. Would it mean much to you to have that historical note of being the guy who defended a TOUR Championship or a FedExCup?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I don't put too much stock in kind of random stats like that. Last week I said I was surprised Tiger hasn't defended, and it might just be because he was injured one year.

I think at the end of your career you'll look back and say I wish I would have won every FedEx you had a chance to win because it's a big tournament, and the fact that it's a year-long race I think means a little bit more. Back-to-back doesn't do anything more, but two is a lot better than just one.

Q. What did you figure out this year about this place and how to play it?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I don't know if I figured anything out about the strategy of the place. I don't think it's overly complicated. I think my body has been better the last couple years, so that three-week stretch to end the year wasn't as taxing on me and I came in a little more fresh even though I was playing three weeks in a row, which I only do maybe one other time during the year, maybe on the West Coast.

But golf courses are kind of like that. Sometimes you come to a place, don't see it perfect, and then you play a couple rounds well and then you start playing well there all the time.

Q. How would you look at the year? You hadn't won an individual title since last week. Do you find the win or the consistency more rewarding?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I try to view golf tournaments as you can really only control putting yourself in the chance to win on the back nine on Sunday. A lot of times things happen that are outside of your control, and that determines who wins. So I felt like I was playing well all year and felt like maybe I should have won or could have won a couple times earlier.

But I was glad to get one individual tournament under my belt last week, and having it be one of the bigger events of the year I think was cool.

Q. What do you see as the key to having your game in the shape it needs to be at the end of a long season, having gone through the grind of all the majors and still being at your best this time of year?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I think Tiger always talked about peaking. I think it's hard to tailor when you're going to peak. I think in general, I try to stick to my process as best I can and treat every week relatively similarly and prepare as best I can for the challenge of the golf course and the test that we're going to have that week.

Then some weeks in some stretches you really feel like you're going to play great, in other stretches it's more of a challenge, and that's just the nature of our game.

Q. This sort of crazy season coming to an end, what would it mean to you to go out there and win this one?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, it would mean a lot. I would say definitely after all the close calls I've had this year, if I could close out this season on a two-win-in-a-row stretch, it would be amazing.

Q. It seems like it's been a wild season, both on and off the course. It's going to come to an end here this week at East Lake. How would you describe the season?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I can only speak for myself. This season felt like a grind, and it feels a little bit like a grind to me. It's the most golf I've probably ever played in a two-month stretch the last couple months. I think it's either six of eight or seven of nine for me, which is a lot of golf.

I'm excited about the opportunity I have this week, starting this event only two shots back, but I'll be happy when the season is over and I get a couple-week break before the Presidents Cup.

Q. When it comes to Jay and the dynamic of him being the boss but him also working for you, how would you kind of describe when it comes to initiating change? How does change actually happen when it's that power structure?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I don't like the term "working for you" just as much as the President doesn't work for any one person in particular in the United States, but they have a duty to do right by the membership. Change for an organization that has such a long history as the PGA TOUR does, I think it's slow to change in general, and so if you're making potentially big changes, they can't happen necessarily overnight.

Q. In terms of how you've seen him handle being kind of an easy target or mark for a lot of criticism and things like that, what do you think is kind of perception versus reality on that?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Hard for me to speak to it just because I don't know all the details. If I was in the war room making the decisions all the way along and heard what the reasoning was and the factors, I could maybe speak better to that. But because I don't have the details, it would be hard for me to make a determination on something like that.

Q. What's been your motivation to join the policy board?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I've always been someone that would like the most information possible, and so I think being on the inside and potentially hearing how the decisions are made and maybe being able to factor in on the result of those decisions one way or the other, I think it's not only something I would enjoy but if you're a part of the membership, I think you have a duty to do your part and kind of steward the TOUR if you have the opportunity to.

Q. Do you think it will create a discernible difference; it'll now be 5-5 in directors?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Similar to what I've said before, I've never really sat in on a board meeting or anything like that, so I'm not sure.

Q. When are you going to (indiscernible)?

PATRICK CANTLAY: At the end of the year, the calendar year.