FEDEX ST. JUDE CHAMPIONSHIP

August 13, 2024

Patrick Cantlay

TPC Southwind

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: We'd like to welcome Patrick Cantlay to the media center at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. You're entering the week ranked 11th in the FedExCup standings. Can you talk about your ninth return to the FedExCup Playoffs.

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, always good to make the Playoffs. We've been here in Memphis the last few years, starting it off. Played well last year in this tournament. Looks like we're going to get classic Memphis in August weather. It'll be hot. Hopefully dodge some thunderstorms, and should be a good week.

Q. You had a good performance here last week as a runner-up in a playoff. Can you talk about your return to TPC Southwind, maybe some things you like about this course?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Sure. I think the golf course is good. It demands really good driving of the golf ball this week. You have to play from the fairway here. The rough with it being Bermuda, it's really hard to control your golf ball out of the rough, and there's quite a lot of hazards around this golf course. There's certain key tee shots like 2 and 9, and the par-4 on the back, 15, where you have to play out of the fairway or you're really at a disadvantage. I feel like I have a good game plan for this week, and should be a great week.

Q. When you get to this point in the season, does it in some way feel like a new season because it's the Playoffs, sort of like what it would be for NBA or NFL or whatever, a second season? Does it feel that way?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I would say a little bit. There's a little bit of a reset, knowing that the points are more. Now we're playing really for FedExCup for the end of the year. But with just how it works with the tournaments, I still treat it like it's just another tournament.

I've played well in the playoff events in the last few years, so hoping to keep that trend up.

Q. Does it feel a little different to you, and do you gear up more, although I would think it would be hard to gear up more than the majors. Do you try to build your game up again?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Definitely try to. You want to be peaking at certain times of the year, and this is definitely one of the times of the year where you want to be peaking. My game has been better. The trend has been up the last couple months, so I feel good about where I'm at, and playing some tournaments and courses that I feel comfortable at.

Q. On trying to peak through the Playoffs, obviously you've done it before and perfected it. The guys coming in at the top this week with the heat and everything else, do you give any credence to staying back to try to peak later, or is it, go now?

PATRICK CANTLAY: No, I'd like to go right now. I'm glad I didn't have to play 40 holes on Sunday and then come here and deal with the heat. I don't think I've ever seen a finish like I saw last week at Wyndham.

I think it'll be important to stay rested, stay hydrated and not overdo yourself. But I'd love to get out of the gates early and play well this week.

Q. Should Scheffler and Schauffele sit back and let you guys run past them?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, that wouldn't bother me.

Q. How did you spend the last couple weeks? Was it a lot of rest? Was there stuff you were trying to address in your game?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I practiced a lot. I was back in Jupiter, and it was nice to be home for a few weeks. Just gearing up for the Playoffs.

Q. Going to altitude next week, is that something you're able to make the adjustment just Tuesday, Wednesday there with launch monitor, or do you still prepping for that last week or even this week, setting the TrackMan to altitude?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I haven't done too much prep in the past for altitude in general. I'd say compared to most guys I'm on the higher spin side, especially with driver, so the altitude doesn't bother me too much. I don't have the ball drop out of the sky. I've played well at places with altitude like Vegas before. We used to play Mexico City.

I don't do too much altitude work until the week of.

Q. Xander and Scottie have both had historic years. If you could choose to have one of those years, which one would you choose and why?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I'm sure a lot of people start to ask themselves that when voting comes for Player of the Year, so I think some of it will be decided by how they play these next three weeks. But Scottie has played unbelievable golf. With the amount of tournament wins he's had, it's just been super impressive.

Q. You took three weeks off, but the past three starts top 25s and two top 5s, and you played great here last year. What's been the key to staying hot in that form but also maintaining your success from last year here?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Well, I feel like the last couple months of tournament golf I've played, I've played really well, and I've given myself some chances. My game has been better.

This week there aren't -- it's not too complicated. It's really an execution contest out there, and it looks like we're going to get really good weather, so that makes it even more of an execution contest.

Picking the right targets and honestly staying patient around this golf course. It can sneak up and get you quick if you don't play it correctly, but if you play methodically, I feel like you can shoot 3-, 4-, 5-under every day and have a chance to win come Sunday.

Q. You said your game has been better. What's been better?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Just hitting it better, holing more putts. I wasn't having the results I'm used to or want towards the middle part of this year. Like I'm sure many before me, just work really hard and make a few tweaks to your game, and things get better.

Now I feel like I'm on the other side and building some momentum. It's nice to have some time off at home to work on that stuff that got me going in the right direction and now have three weeks in a row where I can apply it.

Q. You look at the results and they're a lot better after Memorial, and it's traditionally a place you play really well. Was there anything that happened that you worked on the week of Memorial or after that to play well into Pinehurst?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Nothing in particular at Memorial. I tried to address some things after the West Coast in my golf swing, and it just doesn't happen overnight, so it takes -- took a few months of hard work to make it better and make it feel more normal and still working on those things now. But it feels a lot easier and a lot better than it did a number of months ago.

Q. Do you prefer a place like this where there's a very clear penalty, just water and places you can't go, or do you like places with a little more subtly, and do you address this golf course differently because there are dramatic penalties and places you can't go?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I think you have to address it differently. I think there's certain shots that unless the situation really requires it, you just don't take the shot on and making par and going on to the next hole is a good score. Not every week is like that.

My favorite golf course on TOUR is quite the opposite. Riviera is my favorite golf course of the year. There's no hazards and it's all about leaving your golf ball in the correct spots and playing the correct shapes into certain hole locations. This week is more target golf. But that's what makes it interesting out here. We play all different types of grasses and weathers and conditions. It's about getting your mindset in the right spot to adapt for that week.

Q. It's been a while since we've heard much about what's going on behind the scenes with your other duties as a board rep. Has it quieted down, or has it been just as consistent as it seemed to be before, and do you see an end in sight?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Well, it's definitely quieted down, and I agree with you, there hasn't been as much chatter the last few months, which has been nice. I think that's just kind of the nature of it. There's going to be ebbs and flows, depending on what kind of information comes out or what announcements.

When you say "end in sight," it's always evolving. The PGA TOUR has always been changing and trying to evolve and get better. Depends what you mean by -- what you define as the finish line. But I know all of us are working incredibly hard all the time to get the best outcome.

Q. I guess I would ask, a deal, or even if there's not a deal, saying there's not going to be one. Is that finish line close, or do you think we have months to go still, maybe not even this year?

PATRICK CANTLAY: Yeah, I'm not on the transaction committee so I'm not totally up to date with where everything is at currently. But whenever we do get a meaningful update, that'll come back to the board, and then I'm sure we'll have a discussion about it.