Summerlin specialist Patrick Cantlay makes move at Shriners
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Patrick Cantlay throws a dart to set up birdie at Shriners Children's Open
LAS VEGAS – Patrick Cantlay is sick of seeing countless putts lip out or burn edges but the former Shriners Children’s Open champion has positioned himself for another shot at glory on the weekend at TPC Summerlin.
The former FedExCup champion won in Las Vegas on debut in 2017 with his other three previous appearances reading 2-2-T8. He clearly is right at home in the desert playland.
Returning for the first time in two years the eight-time PGA TOUR winner opened with a pair of 4-under 67s to sit eight under, one off the lead when he signed his card after Friday’s morning wave. It was likely the worst score he could’ve posted given how well he pummeled the ball off the tee.
Despite missing just five fairways through two rounds Cantlay’s putter wasn’t fully cooperative with numerous midrange birdie tries seemingly tracking well only to miss by fractions. He was an impressive 33 from 34 inside 10-feet through two rounds but connected on just two of 14 tries from 10-25 feet.
For the California native the issue was the putting surfaces themselves. TPC Summerlin recently laid down new grass on all of the greens making them much more unpredictable than years past.
“You have to hit it close. With the conditions of the greens this week, it's hard to make putts. The greens are not settled… every green and every little spot is a different firmness. It's hard to predict and hard to get it close because of that, but it's the same way for everybody. It's very hard to read the greens. Even if you read it correctly, it could bounce offline in a heartbeat,” Cantlay explained.
“It puts even more of a premium on ball striking around this place. If I could keep driving it the way I am and hit a few more shots closer, I'll be in a good spot.”
Cantlay vowed to put the foot down over the weekend rounds. In Vegas speak, he’s all in.
“This golf course yields a lot of birdies. I'll come out firing tomorrow,” he promised. “I'm only halfway. This is only halftime. With how well I'm rolling it, which I feel like I'm rolling it really well, I could make a bunch the next two days. If I can keep playing from the fairway, I can make a bunch of birdies.”