Patrick Cantlay wins Tour Championship to secure first FedEx Cup originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Patrick Cantlay had the top spot going into the Tour Championship, led after the first three rounds and walked away after the final round with the FedEx Cup and $15 million.
Cantlay just needed to two-putt on 18 for the win after Jon Rahm missed a chip shot for eagle, and he did just that. The 29-year-old ended the day 1-under to finish 21-under at East Lake.
Going into Sunday, it was a two-horse race between Cantlay and Rahm. Cantlay had a two-stroke lead on Rahm, coming into the final 18 holes at 20-under while Rahm was right behind him at 18-under.
Cantlay had a bit of a roller coaster ride on the front nine. He had two birdies, but also two bogeys through the first half of the round, coming out even heading into the final nine. But he parred his way through holes 10 to 15. Rahm shot par the entire way with the exception of a birdie on hole 5, to give Cantlay a one-stroke heading into the last three holes.
Here’s where the drama started. On 16, Cantlay, or Patty Ice as he’s now known, came up with a big birdie putt after Rahm was inches away from securing a birdie of his own on the hole. The birdie gave Cantlay a two-stroke lead with just two holes to go.
But Cantlay struggled on 17, missing the fairway far right and then missing the green to the right side as well. He had to chip twice to get onto the green, and made a putt to come away with a bogey. Rahm missed right on a birdie putt to walk away with par, but he gained a stroke on Cantlay, and the two went to 18 with Cantlay holding a one-shot lead, where Cantlay was able to secure the win.
The native of Long Beach, Calif., finished the season with four PGA tournament wins, including the BMW Championship last week that set Cantlay up well for the final tournament. It’s the first FedEx Cup win in Cantlay’s career.
Rahm finished second, shooting 20-under on the weekend, walking away with $5 million. Kevin Na solidified third place with a 16-under performance, getting $4 million.