Cantlay using hat to bring attention to partnership with first responders

KAPALUA, Hawaii — Patrick Cantlay is back to competition for the first time since the Ryder Cup, and the attention again is on his hat.

Yes, he’s wearing one.

This cap features a logo for the First Responders Children’s Foundation. Cantlay has a new partnership to raise awareness and money to support first responder families across the country.

It starts with a purpose. Cantlay and the FRCF this week are launching a fundraising campaign to aid first responder families impacted by the deadly wildfires across Hawaii in August, which obliterated a historic part of Lahaina and killed 100 people.

The Sentry starts Thursday at Kapalua, about 10 miles from Lahaina.

From the partnership will come the Patrick Cantlay Scholarship, which will award four-year scholarships to a cohort of first responder children who demonstrate business acumen and aspire to become entrepreneurs. The scholarship program starts this fall.

When he began his foundation, Cantlay wanted the key beneficiaries to be junior golf and support for first responders.

“Supporting first responders, their families and the communities they serve is very important to me,” Cantlay said. “We look forward to spotlighting the vital contributions of first responders while also tending to the unique challenges that their children and families experience.”

First Responders Children’s Foundation was founded more than 22 years ago in response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in which 800 children lost a parent who was a first responder. The foundation has awarded 1,300 scholarships totaling more than $3.8 million.

When last seen on the golf course, Cantlay came under severe scrutiny for not wearing a hat at the Ryder Cup. European fans at Marco Simone read an unsubstantiated report that he went hatless to protest not getting paid to play.

Cantlay has denied the report by saying the hat didn’t fit right, pointing out he didn’t wear one at Whistling Straits in 2021, either.

He added one other comment in a recent interview with Golf.com.

“If I was to make a protest, everyone would know what I’m protesting, why I’m protesting and how I’m protesting,” Cantlay said with a grin. “I would never, never do a silent protest.”