PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. – The last we saw of Patrick Cantlay, he was going all kinds of Superman in the American Express’ final round on the PGA West Stadium Course two weeks ago in the southern California desert, shooting an 11-under-par 61 to fall just one shot short of champion Si Woo Kim.
This week, however, in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am up the coast on the Monterey Peninsula, he might feel like a 90-pound weakling.
Not because he’s suddenly loss all his muscle mass during his two-week break. No, it all has to do with the weather and the setting. In these parts this week, the air is chilly, the temps are low (55 degrees is the expected high all week), the winds are up and the forecast calls for plenty of rain the first three days of the tournament. Thus, Cantlay will hit shots he normally doesn’t see coming off his clubs.
“I think (the rain) will make everything just a little tougher,” Cantlay said Tuesday after a practice round at Spyglass Hill. “It’s already cold, so it might feel a little colder even, and I think that will make scores just a little worse, especially if the wind were to blow.
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“And then depending if they play lift, clean, and place or not, mud on the golf ball always adds a little bit of unpredictability and that would make it a little harder. And then the golf ball will go a lot shorter. It already goes very short here compared to the rest of the country, so if it rains, it will go even shorter.”
How much shorter?
“It goes considerably shorter this week,” said Cantlay, who at No. 11 is the highest-ranked player in the field after Dustin Johnson withdrew. “If the wind’s into you, it goes even shorter. I feel like the wind affects the golf ball more here. I think that’s for two reasons: The ball actually is going shorter, so you can put the same amount of force into the golf ball and it goes shorter. Then second, it’s so cold that it’s hard to move your body as fast or make your swing as long.
“Especially with the greens being soft, you can hit low shots, so there’s really no advantage to trying to step on an 8-iron and get the most out of it. You’re better off hitting a three quarter 7-iron and for the most part it’s just going to sit and stop.
“So, for example, if I’m on the east coast and it’s the summer, I could hit a 7-iron 185 or 190 (yards). I hit 7-iron from 157 yards today in my practice round at Spyglass. So it’s a considerable difference.”
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There will be a different feel on the ground, too, as spectators are not allowed and celebrities and amateurs will not be playing side-by-side the professionals because of COVID-19 safety measures. Grandstands ae nowhere to be found, too. And only two courses – Pebble Beach and Spyglass Hill – are in play this year.
Still, all things considered, Cantlay is eager to get going in Thursday’s first round. He’s in good form – a win in the Zozo Championship at Sherwood and a runner-up finish in the American Express sandwiched ties for 17th and 13th in the Masters and Sentry Tournament of Champions in his last four starts. And he counts a tie for ninth in 2013 and a tie for 11th last year as his best results in his four starts in this tournament.
“I always like being up here in Monterey,” he said. “Even though it’s cold this time of year, I like playing Pebble Beach. I like Spyglass. So I’m excited for this year. It looks like we’re going to get some rain, which isn’t uncommon, but I always like being here and I like the golf courses and I like the California golf.
“My game’s been good. Obviously how I played my last round on Tour was unbelievable, even I was a little surprised I was able to shoot 11-under on that golf course. But I think it bodes well for the future, and my game’s in a good spot, my processes are all really good, and if I can make a bunch of putts like I did on that Sunday, look out.”
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