"Felt like a huge win, and it was," Cantlay said.<\/p>\n
MORE GOLF NEWS: <\/strong><\/em>Why PGA golfer was sprinting between shots<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n Rahm's shot was equally special, landing next to the hole on its second bounce but rolling to the light rough beyond the green.\n<\/p>\n With Cantlay in close, the Spaniard had to hole the chip to have any chance of a playoff. He narrowly missed, and Cantlay safely two-putted for birdie and 1-under 69.\n<\/p>\n The victory was worth $20 million for Cantlay, a 29-year-old Californian whose rise in golf was slowed by a back injury that kept him out for three years and nearly ended his career.\n<\/p>\n Now he has stamped himself among the elite in golf, boosted by the FedEx Cup postseason.\n<\/p>\n "It's fantastic," Cantlay said. "It's such a great honor because it's all year. I played really consistent all year and caught fire at the end. There's a lot of satisfaction considering all the work I'm put in my whole life."\n<\/p>\n Cantlay showed remarkable grit and clutch in surviving a six-hole playoff to beat Bryson DeChambeau in the BMW Championship last week. That's where he picked up the moniker "Patty Ice," along with the No. 1 seed to start the Tour Championship with a two-shot lead.\n<\/p>\n He never flinched over four days at East Lake.<\/p>\n "It was tough," he said. "It's definitely the longest lead I've ever held."\n<\/p>\n Rahm, who started the tournament four shots behind and went into the final day two back, never caught Cantlay. He never let him breathe easy, either.\n<\/p>\n Cantlay took a two-shot lead with an approach to 6 feet for birdie on the 17th hole, and then nearly lost it all. He drove to the right on the 17th, clipping a tree and dropping down into deep rough, and then hit a flyer over the green and the gallery. His pitch back to the green came up short and into more deep rough, and he had to make a 6-footer to save bogey and stay ahead.\n<\/p>\n With Rahm well down the 18th fairway, Cantlay hit his best drive of the day, rolling out 361 yards that set up a 6-iron he felt he needed to hit close.\n<\/p>\n Rahm was bogey-free over the last 28 holes, but he only cashed in on two birdies. He closed with a 68 and tied with Kevin Na for the 72-hole score of the tournament at 14-under 266. They will split points toward the world ranking.\n<\/p>\n Cantlay started at 10-under par and finished at 21 under.<\/p>\n https:\/\/twitter.com\/PGATOUR\/status\/1434634161701244928<\/a><\/p>\n "Patrick played great golf, and he was four shots ahead of me. And even though I might have been the better man over the week, he earned it," Rahm said. "That up-and-down after missing from 17, the second shot from 18 to almost make it is even more impressive.\n<\/p>\n "I think you can say he won this."\n<\/p>\n Rahm earned the $5 million consolation prize for finishing second in the FedEx Cup, while Na (67) picked up $4 million. Justin Thomas (70) birdied the last hole to finish fourth, which was worth $4 million.\n<\/p>\n Cantlay started the postseason by saying he did not like the format of the Tour Championship with the staggered start depending on a players' FedEx Cup position, and no official victory for the lowest score at the Tour Championship.\n<\/p>\n "With that said, I am going to do the best possible job I can at winning in this format, because that's all I can do," he said Wednesday.\n<\/p>\n And that's what he did, delivering a big moment that might bring yet another title.\n<\/p>\n Cantlay won for the fourth time this season, and no one else more than twice. One of those victories was the Memorial, where Rahm had a six-shot lead after 54 holes and had to withdraw because of a positive COVID-19 test result.\n<\/p>\n That figures to make him a front-runner for PGA Tour player of the year, with Rahm (U.S. Open title, No. 1 ranking) and Collin Morikawa (British Open, World Golf Championship title), also likely to be on the ballot.\n<\/p>\n Rahm won the Vardon Trophy for the lowest adjusted scoring average.<\/p>\n For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by<\/em><\/strong> clicking here!<\/em><\/strong><\/a><\/p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
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