Tour Championship R4

Patrick Cantlay wins by one shot

Tour Championship 2021 R4
September 02-05
East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, Georgia
Round 1, Round 2, Round 3

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes


Patrick Cantlay led by one shot after the 17th and hit a 6-iron 218 yards to within twelve feet of the hole for birdie. He kept his cool and made the putt for a final round 69 and a wire-to-wire win at the Tour Championship.


Tour Championship 2021 R4

“Given that I started ahead, it’s just a totally different mindset. So being able to stay present and kind of give myself that sense of urgency or give myself a feeling like I need to make birdies or I need to hit quality shots now, I think that was really key for me. I try to do a good job of that every week, but this week it was even more important.

“Given where Jon was [at the 18th], I knew I had to hit a good one. I was expecting him to make a 3 from there. Felt like a match-play situation; you have to expect your opponent to make. It came off perfect. I hit a draw a little off the number, or off a full number, and it landed in the perfect spot. It was the best shot I hit all week.

“Felt like a huge win, and it was.”


Tour Championship 2021 R4

He ends the season with four titles, two better than any other player this season, and the FedEx Cup for $15 million.

Jon Rahm started the event four behind Cantlay and came within one shot of victory.

“He’s No. 1 for a reason,” said Cantlay’s caddie, Matt Minister. “It was intense. There was never a time when I thought we could just relax out there.”


Tour Championship 2021 R4

Rahm pulled even with Cantlay on several occasions but Cantlay always managed to regain the lead shortly after.

“I gave it my all,” said Rahm. “It wasn’t enough. But it is what it is. I get to go home to my beautiful wife and family and rest up a little bit. The year is not over. We have a couple big events coming up and a couple big ones on the European Tour.

“Patrick played great golf. And he was four shots ahead of me, and even though I might have been the better man over the week, he earned it. He played amazing. That up-and-down after missing from 17, the second shot from 18 to almost make it is even more impressive.

“I think you can say he won this,” he added. “He played amazing golf.”


Tour Championship 2021 R4

Kevin Na finished third at 16-under followed by Justin Thomas in fourth at 15-under.

Joaquin Niemann was determined to beat Kevin Na’s speed record (1:59) for an 18-hole round at the TOUR Championship. He tapped in at the 18th for a 2-over 72 and a time of 1:53 finishing last at 4-over.

“It’s been a long week, a long three or four weeks,” he said, “and I wasn’t playing my best golf this week. I was in last place and wasn’t going to win. I was pretty far behind from the guys in front of me, so I was like, let’s make it fun and have fun. It was a lot of fun.”

The fastest round on record for the PGA Tour was Wesley Bryan’s 1h29 at the 2017 BMW Championship.


Tour Championship 2021 R4

Pos.
Player
To Par
R1
R2
R3
R4
Total
1
Patrick Cantlay
-21
67
66
67
69
269
2
Jon Rahm
-20
65
65
68
68
266
3
Kevin Na
-16
66
67
66
67
266
4
Justin Thomas
-15
67
67
65
70
269
T5
Viktor Hovland
-14
66
68
70
65
269
T5
Xander Schauffele
-14
68
69
67
64
268
7
Bryson DeChambeau
-13
69
67
72
66
274
8
Dustin Johnson
-11
68
69
68
67
272
T9
Abraham Ancer
-10
69
70
65
70
274
T9
Billy Horschel
-10
65
68
67
70
270
T11
Daniel Berger
-8
72
69
67
64
272
T11
Tony Finau
-8
72
67
73
68
280
T11
Jason Kokrak
-8
67
68
72
67
274
T14
Sergio Garcia
-7
68
70
66
69
273
T14
Rory McIlroy
-7
68
66
74
67
275
T14
Louis Oosthuizen
-7
68
67
71
70
276
T14
Cameron Smith
-7
68
68
73
69
278
T18
Sam Burns
-6
71
70
69
68
278
T18
Harris English
-6
66
69
75
68
278
T20
Sungjae Im
-4
71
70
70
68
279
T20
Jordan Spieth
-4
69
67
70
74
280
T22
Corey Conners
-3
67
72
70
69
278
T22
Scottie Scheffler
-3
67
72
68
71
278
T22
Erik van Rooyen
-3
69
73
68
67
277
25
Patrick Reed
-2
72
69
66
71
278
T26
Stewart Cink
E
72
68
71
70
281
T26
Hideki Matsuyama
E
77
65
69
70
281
T26
Collin Morikawa
E
70
73
68
72
283
29
Joaquin Niemann
+4
72
71
70
72
285
Updated: October 6, 2022