Tommy Fleetwood and Patrick Cantlay were paired together for the final round of the Tour Championship on Sunday.
Before the final round began on Sunday, Cantlay was named as the main danger man for Fleetwood at the Tour Championship.
Fleetwood and Cantlay were tied on 16-under par overnight, but it was the Englishman who made the better start to the final round of the Tour Championship.
The 34-year-old looked calm and composed while the American seemed flustered. However, Cantlay worked his way back into the round as the holes went by.
The two PGA Tour pros are completely different characters, so it was interesting to see the dynamic between them at East Lake.
And Rich Beem opened up on what the atmosphere was actually like between the two players during the final round.
What the atmosphere was like between Patrick Cantlay and Tommy Fleetwood at the Tour Championship
Fleetwood is one of the most affable players on the PGA Tour, while Cantlay is well-known for keeping himself to himself.
Beem was performing his on-course commentary duties for Sky Sports in the UK on Sunday at East Lake.
And he was asked what the feeling was like between the two players during the early stages of the final round.
Beem said: “It’s kind of like how I expected, not much chatter between them whatsoever. Tommy once again, body language looks good, walking along with Finno, Finno jabbering away. Yeah, everything is status quo.“
In fairness, Cantlay isn’t much of a talker on the golf course, and Fleetwood was very much in the zone at East Lake, as he looked to win his first ever PGA Tour event.
So the fact that they weren’t speaking to each other should not have been a shock to anyone.
Patrick Cantlay’s slow play and his response to being put on the clock
Cantlay was asked how he felt about having a shot clock put against his name during the TV broadcast of the BMW Championship.
It was put to him that he may have felt singled out.
The American replied: “I know, I talked to a lot of guys last week. The course was playing really tough, so almost every group was behind time par.“
One reporter then said: “They chose you.“
To which Cantlay responded: “Yeah, obviously I’m not in control of the broadcast or what kind of stuff they put on there. But I’m not really worried about it. I’m trying to make the lowest score out there.“
Cantlay clearly has an issue with his pace of play, and he very much marches to the beat of his own drum.
Whether that ends up affecting Fleetwood to an extent that he fails to win the Tour Championship remains to be seen, though.
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