Patrick Cantlay’s bias against Scottie Scheffler in the Player of the Year race is overshadowed by his own reality.
Is Patrick Cantlay’s support for Scheffler just a cover for his own lackluster season?
Scotty Scheffler added another feather to his cap. Last week he beat Tommy Fleetwood at the Golf National in Paris for a one-stroke victory. The world’s No. 1 golfer shot a nine-under 62 last week to secure the Olympic trophy for the United States, a victory that also earned him an additional 50 points in the Official World Golf Rankings, solidifying his number one status. Scottie Scheffler, who has six wins this season, is also leading the FedEx Cup standings.
Before the FedEx St. Jude, Patrick Cantlay, who is No. 8 on the OWGR list, was asked whether he would choose the year of Scottie Scheffler or Xander Schauffele. He said: “But Scotty played some great golf, which is very impressive when you consider how many tournaments he has won. But he said the final three weeks of the men’s tournament are also key and things can change at any time.” In addition to Cantlie’s selection, another golfer who had a great 2024 is Xander Schauffele, who is currently ranked second on the OWGR list and in the FedEx Cup standings. The 2020 Olympic champion had 12 top-10 finishes, including two major wins in one season, during what has been a historic year for him. Plus, after winning the British Open, Schauffele beat Rory McIlroy to move into second place.
Despite several golfers having great seasons, the next three weeks will be tough and important. The other events are the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the BMW Championship and the Tour Championship. Players’ performances at these events will have a big influence on who wins Player of the Year. On that subject, Patrick Cantlay said: “I’m sure a lot of people are starting to wonder that when the voting is going to be done for player of the year, so I think part of that will be decided by how they play these next three weeks.”
Xander Schauffele currently has 4,057 points in the FedEx Cup standings. That’s 1,936 points behind Scottie Scheffler, who leads the way with 5,993 points for the season. Now, the next event in the men’s cycle will be the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Scheduled for August 15-18 in Memphis, the winner will take home 2,000 FedEx points as well as a trophy and cash prize. The second event included in the playoffs will also award the same FedEx points as St. Louis. If Xander Schauffele is ready and able to win at least one of the two, and Scotty Schauffele doesn’t win the trophy, Schauffele still has a chance to win the Player of the Year title. But where does Patrick Cantlay fit into the FedEx Playoffs?
Patrick Cantlay currently sits 11th in the FedEx Cup standings with 1,780 points. That’s about 4,213 points behind Scotty Scheffler. Only the top 70 players on the list will qualify for the FedEx Playoffs. This is why Patrick Kangle should set the Saint-Juda championship. If he cannot get a good finish in the event, he can strongly fall into the list. On the other hand, if he ends up with a win at the St. Jude Championship, he will surpass Rory McIlroy and get on the list of the top 3, grabbing a good 2024 season finish. “This week is more target golf,” he even said at the practice round! Do you think Patrick Cantlay will be able to take charge and jump up high on the list? Stay tuned to find out!
Swinging for Golf Greatness
Aheli Chakraborty is a Golf Writer at EssentiallySports. Armed with a Bachelor’s Degree in Literature, Aheli has actively covered many big events in the sport, including The Masters. She specializes in covering emerging athletes such as Charlie Woods and Ludwig Aberg and always strives to answer the most frequently asked questions from her readers in her articles. Aheri is also a fan of bodybuilding and has written a number of specialized articles for the fitness magazine ES.
