Golf Fans All Raise Same Concern Over Patrick Cantlay & Tommy Fleetwood Situation at Tour Championship

On Saturday at East Lake, Patrick Cantlay started the day chasing. Then, he delivered one of the round’s best performances to join Tommy Fleetwood at 16-under to lead the field. And just like that, he gave the golf fans an impressive performance to eclipse season-long sub-par performances with three missed cuts and no wins. On the other hand is his fourth-round group player sharing the lead, Fleetwood.

The English fan-favorite has come painfully close to a win this season. At the Travelers Championship, Fleetwood led until the final green, only to see Keegan Bradley sink a clutch birdie moments after he missed his own par putt. At the FedEx St. Jude Championship, he surged ahead with three birdies in four holes on Sunday’s back nine, but a par at the 16th and a missed 7-footer at 17 cost him a spot in the playoff, eventually won by Justin Rose. Now, despite leading the Tour Championship for two rounds, Fleetwood will be paired with Cantlay on Sunday. And that’s exactly what raised eyebrows for the fans.

One golf fan, Donnie Solebee, shared his observation to start a long discussion as he tweeted, “On 18, it just took Patrick Cantlay 2 minutes and 34 seconds from the time he marked his ball and started reading his putt until he made contact on his eagle putt.  2 minutes and 34 seconds.  I don’t get it.  Is this ok when you are near the lead or no one is waiting behind you?”

In the third round, Fleetwood needed a 44-foot birdie just to stay in the lead. On the other hand, Cantlay’s calm, controlled demeanor helped him avoid mistakes altogether.

He strung together birdies to erase Fleetwood’s advantage. It was another example of Cantlay playing his way into contention at the sharp end of a playoff without ever looking rattled. And yet, here’s the irony with Cantlay: the better he plays, the more fans zero in on something beyond the numbers. 

The scorecard showed consistency and another chance at a $10 million payday, but the chatter from golf X and the East Lake galleries circled back to the same critique.

Fans say Patrick Cantlay is ‘unwatchable’ as Tommy Fleetwood pairing hovers

For Sunday, Cantlay will be paired with Fleetwood. Now, the latter has come back from behind to lead the field for two days consecutively. However, it is quite possible that Cantlay’s slow pace can affect Fleetwood’s efficiency. For most of the fans, that’s one of the biggest problems they have with the American’s playing style. No wonder they are concerned about the situation, as one fan noted, “Poor Fleetwood has to play with Cantlay tomorrow. I hope he’s brought a good book with him.🥱#TourChampionship.”

They brought back the situation that his group players faced in the 2023 Masters. Paired with Viktor Hovland in front of Brooks Koepka and eventual winner Jon Rahm, the final round dragged to nearly five hours, with Rahm and Koepka forced to wait on almost every hole. Koepka called it “brutally slow,” even adding, “Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.” But Cantlay denied the allegations, saying, “We waited all day on pretty much every shot… it was slow for everyone.” 

One fan dragged Cantlay down while cheering for the English golfer as they commented, “Watching Cantlay play is as exciting as watching paint dry. LFG, Tommy Fleetwood!!!” But again, this is not the first time that Cantlay has had to face such criticism. In fact, it seems to be common knowledge at this point as more fans dropped in their criticism.

“There is no one worse to watch play golf than Patrick Cantlay. He should have the clock called on him every hole. It’s unwatchable”, while the other wrote, “I can’t imagine anything more annoying than watching Patrick Cantlay getting ready to hit a golf shot.” From there, the comparisons came flooding in. Some fans decided to compare Cantlay with Sergio Garcia, and we think we know why.

“Okay. I think it’s time for us to discuss Patrick Cantlay’s pre-shot routine, which is becoming Sergio Garcia-like. I seriously can’t even watch him hit a shot anymore because it is so annoying to me,” one frustrated fan wrote.

The comparison isn’t random either. At the 2024 Open Championship qualifier at West Lancashire, Garcia was put on the clock and blew up at R&A officials, snapping, “You’re always right, we’re always wrong,” after a slow-play warning on the 8th hole. Still fuming, he admitted the warning threw off his rhythm, leading to bogeys and eventually costing him a spot in the field.

And well, this slow play problem can very well be the reason Fleetwood loses his footing with his last chance for a PGA Tour victory this year. So, what are your thoughts on the matter? Our comment section is open!