Heading into the final round of this year's Memorial Tournament, Patrick Cantlay recognized that he had an opportunity at redemption. The 2018 edition of The Memorial had left a bad taste in Cantlay's mouth, after a lackluster back-nine in the final round at Muirfield Village resulted in his missing out on the eventual playoff by a single shot.
This year, the 27-year-old left no doubt. Beginning the day four strokes off the lead, Cantlay charged right out the gate, collecting five birdies on the front-nine for a 4-under-par 31. He maintained his aggressive focus after making the turn, adding three more birdies and finishing with a bogey-free, 8-under-par 64, the lowest final round by a winner in the history of the Memorial.
He wrote down only threes and fours on his scorecard on Sunday.
Cantlay's 19-under-par 269 victory total put him two strokes clear of fellow Titleist Brand Ambassador Adam Scott, and earned him his second career PGA TOUR title (his first victory came at the 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open).
The win advances the former Jack Nicklaus Award winner to No. 8 in the Official World Golf Rankings, marking his first time inside the Top 10. (The Nicklaus Award is given each year to the nation's oustanding collegiate golfer, which Cantlay won in 2011, following his freshman season at UCLA.)
Evidence of Cantlay's all-around solid play this week can be seen not only on his scorecards, but also in the week's statistics. Cantlay finished 3rd in Putts Per Greens in Regulation at Muirfield Village (1.620), 4th in Driving Distance (298.4), 5th in Scrambling (72.73%) and T-11 in Greens in Regulation (69.44%).
As Cantlay walked off the 18th green on Sunday, he summed up the triumph with his words of greeting to tournament host Jack Nicklaus, "I finished."
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"Definitely coming back I was looking for a little redemption this week. I've been playing really well, so it feels like a win has been coming. I've been knocking on the door a lot. And being able to close it out, it feels great. It feels like validation of everything I've been working on.
It helps me feel comfortable and confident going into (U.S. Open) week. And I really like Pebble Beach. I know my form is really good. I'm going to show up there, I'm going to get extremely prepared, and I'm going to be ready to win."
- Patrick Cantlay
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Let's take a closer look at all the Titleist equipment that Patrick relied on to capture The Memorial.
PATRICK'S WINNING SETUP:
Golf Ball: Pro V1x
Driver: 917 D2 (9.5°)
Fairway: 915 F (15º)
Hybrid:816 H2 (21º)
Irons:718 AP2 (4-PW)
Wedges: Vokey Design SM5 gap (53.10 S Grind), sand (56.08 M Grind), and lob (61.08 M Grind)
Putter: Scotty Cameron Custom GSS
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Congratulations on your prestigious win, Patrick!
#TeamTitleist