Smith | In defence of Patrick Cantlay, the PGA Tour's alleged LIV war muck-raker

When Patrick Reed and Bryson DeChambeau departed the PGA Tour to grow the game, one was left wondering who would put their head above the parapet to take up the mantle of player you love to hate. 

There were a number of options but the most obvious candidate was Patrick Cantlay given his demeanour on the course. 

Cantlay has been accused of behaving arrogantly amongst other Tour pros and carrying himself with a certain level of smugness and entitlement.  

Over the last two years, he has also been accused of being a 'muck-raking' figure in the Tour-LIV divide. 

For some fans, they view his pace of play as not particularly speedy and, let's face it, he looks thoroughly miserable on the golf course. 

It's easy to see why the casual fan will pull for someone like, say, Will Zalatoris over Cantlay. 

Zalatoris has all the potential to rise to the very top of the golf world and his enthusiasm for the game is infectious. 

He recently broke down in tears after revealing he played the entirety of the Genesis Invitational after losing a relative on the eve of the tournament.

"She was with me all week," he said after taking a few seconds to compose himself.  

When players display a certain level of vulnerability, it makes them so much easier to root for. 

Cantlay played in the Genesis and mid-way through the final round one particular tweet caught my eye. 

The post appeared to revel in the fact Cantlay threw away a two-shot, 54-hole lead. 

It was posted by the very same journalist who broke the story Cantlay was leading a split within the Team USA locker room at the 2023 Ryder Cup.

For his part Cantlay denied there was ever animosity amongst the ranks and even his captain, Zach Johnson, came to his aid. 

Johnson claimed the report was not only wide of the mark but also irresponsible.  

I'm not looking to start a beef here but the post did cause me to stop and think: Why is Cantlay disliked so much?

Let me take you back to June last year and the Golfweek writer Eamon Lynch published a remarkable claim about Cantlay. 

Lynch's report stated Cantlay was leading a coup d'état against the Tour's leadership. 

Cantlay, so the story goes, was attempting to rally PGA Tour members against making a deal with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. 

"It hardly needs to be stated that his objections aren't based on the morality of dealing with human rights abusers," Lynch wrote.

"Existing PGA Tour incentives won't benefit much Cantlay."

If true, it's not a great look is it? But ask yourself who is likely to be feeding Lynch this information and the context when it was given. 

The Tour were fighting hard to retain their stars and, to all intents and purposes, wanted to maintain power over the players. 

Perhaps it would be beneficial to establish a narrative where Cantlay is the enemy?

The same could be said when a Tour official clearly leaked Robert Garrigus was the first Tour pro to ask for a tournament release to go and play on LIV. 

Fast-forward a few months and, after announcing a framework agreement with the Saudi PIF, Cantlay faced further accusations. 

The accusations? He was attempting to grab power. Sports Illustrated carried the headline: Patrick Cantlay is in control. 

Again, you have to ask yourself... in control of what? And how?

Cantlay addressed this wild accusation in an interview with GOLF at the turn of the year. 

"It would be impossible for any one player to take control," he said. 

"I mean, it would be impossible for all the players together to take control; we only have half the seats on the board, and any major vote around any of the things we've been talking about requires a two-thirds majority."

I'm inclined to agree that Cantlay has a point to feel hard done by. As for his demeanour on the course, I have some empathy for Cantlay.

Sometimes it's easy to look as though you aren't happy when you're just focusing on your game. 

Tiger Woods was hardly beaming from ear-to-ear as he dominated the sport. "It's just not my style," Cantlay said when asked about his demeanour. 

The likelihood is that Cantlay is by no means perfect and it's clear that he does have an axe to grind when it comes Ryder Cup compensation. 

But I'm increasingly of the view the golfer is just an easy target for many.

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