SENTRY TOURNAMENT OF CHAMPIONS

January 3, 2023

Patrick Cantlay

Plantation Course at Kapalua

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We would like to welcome Patrick Cantlay to the interview room here at the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He's making his fifth start at the tournament.

Patrick, welcome back. Two fourth place finishes at this event, including last year during the shoot-out. But if we can get some comments on being back.

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah. I'm excited to be back. Golf course looks like it's in great shape. A little firmer in the fairways this year than last. Yeah, last year was a shoot-out. I think I was 25 or 26 under, 26 under and loss by eight, which never feels good.

But I played well, so it's a golf course that I think I figured out more recently compared to my first couple starts here, and so it's definitely a place I look forward to coming back every year.

THE MODERATOR: Talk a little bit about the holidays, having a little time off, and now getting started here in January.

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, it's nice to have a little time off. The last couple years I've taken a big chunk of time off in the fall, which is nice. It's been a good time to recharge the batteries and now I'm ready to go.

THE MODERATOR: All right. Let's get started with questions.

Q. It's obviously the start of kind of a new era here on the TOUR. Do you detect a little more urgency among the players? Have you treated this week any differently as far as taking it too deep on New Year's Eve and stuff like that?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I don't have that problem. I take most events I show up to pretty darn serious. But, yeah, I think the guys are pretty excited about all playing the same events this year for the most part and knowing that there's going to be 10 or 11 events where they all show up. I think that should make for a real exciting year.

Q. Do you think there's a little more buy-in among the players, like, okay, we asked for this, we need to show up and support these events and put on a good show?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I think, like I said, I mean, I think the guys are excited with just all being able to play against each other and feeling like there's going to be -- I might get the number wrong, but 16, 17, 18 tournaments this year where most of the Top-50 players in the world are all playing the same event.

So I think that's really exciting from a competitive standpoint because when we grow up, we grow up imagining playing against the best players in the world, and so that's exciting.

Q. I know you don't really read much of it, but perhaps you're aware there's, your name always seems to pop up in speculation. Why do you think that is?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I'm not sure. You're talking with LIV? Yeah, I think it's because I haven't been too vocal one way or the other. So I think that's probably where it is. Guys, for the most part, seem like they're pretty polarized on this issue, and I view it as it's been a competition for top talent, like any other business.

But I have no plans to do that as of now, which has been my stance for, you know, basically since the whole time.

Q. Do you find it kind of like amusing?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I don't see a lot of it or hear a lot of it. When I come up here, I'll get questions about it, but for the most part that's it. I mean, I don't see or hear a lot of it. So it's not surprising, I guess, because I've been asked the questions a few times, but it does give me a little chuckle because my stance has been pretty much the same for awhile now.

Q. How exactly do you feel about it?

PATRICK CANTLAY: About?

Q. About LIV?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think that it's been interesting how much it's changed golf, as in, like, everyone's trying to innovate and make golf better all of a sudden. I think that will be a massive benefit for the viewer because I think now more than ever competition is making people evolve and making people grow and think outside the box.

So I think it's been really good and will be good for professional golf in the long run. But it's been such a polarizing issue that it's made people, you know, feel emotional about something that has been the same for such a long time.

Q. What's the last thing you got emotional about?

PATRICK CANTLAY: (Laughing.) I mean, with all the stuff I went through like 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, compared to that everything feels muted.

Q. Including getting engaged? That was a flat line too or?

PATRICK CANTLAY: No, I mean, that was probably the most new, exciting like big change in my life, and I feel really happy about it.

Q. Back to my original question. The success of LIV going forward, how important is that to the landscape of golf do you think?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Well, very important to them and the people that are playing over on that TOUR. I don't know if it's important for the landscape of golf. I would hope that ultimately it makes professional golf better, as in makes the product better, makes it better for viewers, makes people want to play golf more.

So in general, I think any amount of more excitement or any amount of more people that are playing golf, more dollars that are into golf, I think that's good for golf. I hope that looking back on this time you can look at golf as having been better for having it than not.

Q. I guess what I'm getting at is does it need to continue for golf to continue to get better, to have that competition where things are still innovating?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Potentially. I think competition is always necessary for improvement. But not necessarily. I think -- I just think that in general, like I've said before, that it's been such a polarizing issue and in the future, we may look back and think that it's not as polarizing as it's been when you're in the heat of the moment.

So I'm as interested as all of you to see where it goes and then looking back, I hope that it brings about some positive change in the game of golf. And I think with more attention and more excitement it potentially can do that.

Q. Switching gears just a little bit. You mentioned at the Open Championship that you feel like you figured out this golf course specifically. How do you think your mindset has changed since you first teed it up here until now?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think you have to hit more shots around this golf course. So I think there's more half shots with the wind blowing 15 or 20 every day, and then there's a lot more uphill or downhill dramatic shots that you have to hit.

So getting comfortable, playing more golf shots and not necessarily playing stock shots all the way around this golf course, I think is really important because there's many holes where you get balls way above, way below, or downhill or uphill, and then it's really important to hit your golf ball into a particular section, and then add in a 15 or 20 mile an hour cross-breeze, it can get tough.

I think my first couple years when I played, I was trying to hit more stock shots and not trying to move my golf ball into the area with all the factors considered as well as I have the last couple times.

Q. Just to continue on that, how does that differ from your strategy on a typical week on course, or on TOUR? Does it change just from course to course or is it just specifically this course that you feel like you have to do that?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think this course is probably one of the most dramatic examples of that. And then in a couple weeks time when we go to Palm Springs that would be the dramatic example of the other way where you can pretty much hit stock shots on every single shot and if you get a day where it's not blowing at all, it's like driving range golf. So I think it just, it mainly has to do with the conditions and the golf course.

Q. I noticed the bag, but I wasn't paying attention to the shirt. Is that deal gone, your shirt?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yes. No more HUGO BOSS.

Q. Okay. Are you in the market?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I am.

Q. Okay. How is that going?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Great.

Q. Okay. You talked about all the top players playing together. Until this year, how did you go about making a schedule? How much did you consider the field compared with how the course suited you?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I would say other than obviously majors, PLAYERS, and playoff events, which would be eight events, I mainly made my decisions based on golf course and then timing, so trying not to play more than three in a row ever, and trying to make it enough rest time in between so I don't get burned out.

Q. Are you good with doing four out of five?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I've done it before. I mean, I think going two on, one off, two on is easier than like three. So it's mainly for me about avoiding the three in a row or four in a rows, which hopefully I never have to do, more than it is about four out of five or whatever.

Q. Would you be willing, since you don't have to play these elevated events and I don't know how much bonus is waiting for you on the illustrious PIP that you love so much, but if it's like 800,000 or a million bucks, would you be willing to skip or not fulfill your elevated event requirement and give up your PIP money if it meant getting the rest and preparation you needed? Do I really ask that confusing of questions?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I guess I don't understand.

Q. So you have to play your elevated events to be able to collect your PIP money. If the PIP money wasn't all that great, whatever that means, would it be worth it to someone like you to not fulfill your elevated events requirements if it means being in better shape for the important tournaments than just collecting your PIP money? That's as good as I can do, Patrick.

PATRICK CANTLAY: I don't think they're exclusive. So I think you can still play all the elevated events and prepare as well as you possibly can for the big events. So I don't think it has to be a one or the other.

But I think if there was a scenario where it was one or the other, I would have to make a decision and weigh the pros and cons on both sides.

Q. You mentioned there's these 17 or 18 events where all the best players are going to be there. Now that you're on the Player Advisory Council, you have to think about the whole membership, and there's another 30 events that may not get very many stars or there's less money. Are you hearing from more of your colleagues who are, say, outside the top 50 that have any concerns that the TOUR's been sort of bifurcated and -- like, how much are you having those conversations with your colleagues?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I haven't heard much recently, but I've been gone for the most part. It was playoffs and then I only played Vegas and now I'm here and there's only 40 players in the field or something. So definitely something that I would be willing to hear anybody if they have questions or concerns about where that's going and how that's evolving.

Q. Do you worry about those other events that are not the elevated status and how they're going to survive long-term?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think it's definitely a concern. But you would have to see how that actually plays out and then kind of analyze then. I mean, I don't think we've even seen it play out or how it's going to be actually work in practice.

So I would want to see how it works in practice before making too big of a decision one way or the other.

Q. I know you don't like the PIP, but I'm wondering, did you dive into like the numbers about where you finished in certain categories? Because you were I think the guy with the highest World Ranking, the biggest delta between World Ranking and finish in the PIP?

PATRICK CANTLAY: No, I didn't look at those metrics.

Q. Just collected the -- just saw that you won some money and that was it and move on?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, in general I feel like I try and make the golf as best I can and then let all the other stuff take care of itself.

Q. Would you be more interested in exploring how the PIP works or in reading LIV rumors?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think I know how the PIP works. And it's still more interesting than the LIV rumors.

THE MODERATOR: All right, Patrick, as always we appreciate your time.

PATRICK CANTLAY: Thank you.