Amid slow play criticism, Patrick Cantlay has impressive bogey save from bulkhead at RBC Heritage

Patrick Cantlay was faced with a vexing predicament in the final round of the RBC Heritage. 

On Harbour Town’s par-3 14th, trailing Jordan Spieth by two strokes, Cantlay pulled his tee shot 55 feet from the hole, leading to an unlikely sequence. His chip shot rolled past the hole and was destined for the water, however, the bulkhead caught the ball. 

“That chip was obviously faster than it looked,” Cantlay said after his solo third-place finish. “Jordan (who had to play a similar shot first) hit it past and I did as well. It was in a spot that you never practice or play from with it being wedged in between the bulkhead there. Yeah, it was precarious.”

For nearly five minutes, Cantlay contemplated if he should play the shot or take a drop, as there was a reasonable chance Cantlay would kick the ball back into the water. Jon Rahm, who temporarily joined the CBS broadcast team on Sunday following his final-round 68, thought Cantlay should avoid taking a risk while still in contention. 

Full-field scores from the RBC Heritage

“Take a drop,” the Masters champion said, “hopefully make a four and try to go on a tear on the last few holes, that’s all you can do. … It’s a massive risk over something that you’ve never practiced. There are too many unknowns in this situation.”

But Cantlay decided to give it a go. With a wedge, he miraculously knocked the ball 4 feet from the hole and would convert his bogey putt. 

“Just needed to make sure I was totally committed to what I decided to do there,” Cantlay said. “I wasn’t decided until the end, but ultimately I thought that if I would have dropped it, it would have meant double bogey more than likely, and I wanted to at least give myself a chance to stay in the golf tournament and try and get it up-and-down, which I did.”

The 31-year-old ultimately finished at 16 under, one stroke short of joining Matt Fitzpatrick and Spieth in a playoff. 

However, the sequence on No. 14 only added to the recent criticism Cantlay has received for his pace of play. Last Sunday at the Masters, he was playing ahead of the final pairing of Brooks Koepka and Rahm. Afterward, Koepka said, “the group in front of us was brutally slow.” Cantlay responded Tuesday, saying, “I imagine it was slow for everyone.”

At the RBC Heritage, Cantlay played in the final group with Fitzpatrick and Spieth. And according to CBS on-course reporter Dottie Pepper, Spieth and Fitzpatrick were not pleased with how long it took Cantlay to decide if he should play his perilous shot from the bulkhead. 

“Both Fitzpatrick and Spieth were pretty upset at the 14th about the time it took to make a decision to play the shot,” Pepper said, “but it’s part of being a professional — do what you can to get back in the moment.”