To those of us on the outside, there hardly appeared to be a player less suited to TGL than Patrick Cantlay, with the American one of the very best on the PGA Tour at keeping his emotions in check.
Ahead of the inaugural season of TGL, it was clear that many of the players involved saw an opportunity to show a different side of themselves. Of course, on the PGA Tour, displaying personality is rarely one of the priorities.
Billy Horschel spoke of the need for the players to be entertainers if TGL was going to take off. And it was no surprise to see the likes of Kevin Kisner and Tom Kim shine, even if Jupiter Links had a fairly miserable season on the simulator.
But there was real intrigue to see someone like Patrick Cantlay involved. Cantlay is someone who has holed crucial putts to win points at the Ryder Cup and the Presidents Cup and reacted with little more than a roar and a considered fist pump.
Billy Horschel provides an insight into being Patrick Cantlay’s teammate in TGL
And it did appear in the early stages of TGL that Cantlay had not got the memo about being entertaining, as he seemingly did all he could to provide his Atlanta Drive teammates from using the hammer.
But as the season went on and Atlanta found their groove, Cantlay seemed to let the shackles off ever so slightly. And speaking on Golf Channel, Billy Horschel outlined how impressed he had been by his teammate as the weeks went by.
“Yeah, I think everyone was a little nervous at the beginning, you could see that in the matches, you could see that just completely out of our arena. We’re used to playing outside, outdoors, and we’re playing inside in a simulator with people and video boards and music, and people yelling at us and people cheering for us. You can hear them pull against us and everything. I think that was something that was so unique. This is what other athletes in other sports experience. And I think as guys went along, they embraced it a lot,” he said.
“Obviously, JT and I, you knew we were going to embrace it, but I think what people don’t understand is Patrick Cantlay did an unbelievable job. There’s a photo that I have that was taken of my celebration when I made the putt and what JT was doing, and Patrick Cantlay’s in the background with his arms raised looking up, screaming and everything. And you could see that, he enjoyed it. Now is he going to be at our level, JT and I’s level? No, but what he did was organic. You saw a side of Patrick where he was really, we knew he was methodical but, just the way he thinks about the hammer and the strategy aspect of it, people saw a little more in Patrick Cantlay and who he is.”
What Xander Schauffele said about facing Cantlay in TGL
Of course, being authentic is just as important as getting properly involved with the drama of TGL. Fans would be even more uncomfortable watching a player pretend to be a trash-talker for the sake of the cameras.
And it seems that Cantlay made sure to stick to what he knows best, judging by Xander Schauffele‘s comments ahead of the final – which were reported by the Daily Mirror – with the two-time major champion acknowledging that Horschel would be the player to try and antagonise.
“Yeah, I don’t think Pat’s going to give me a whole lot of trash-talking back, that’s usually a one-way street when we’re together,” he said.
“I think Billy, it’s almost impossible not to hear Billy when you’re out there, Billy will be the big one you got to, you know, don’t let him get too fired up or he’s going to run all over you.”
There is definitely space for a couple of quiet players in TGL, particularly if they take on the role of pantomime villains. And with Horschel and Justin Thomas flying around, Cantlay can definitely be that in future.
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