It’s easy to spot the similarities between Patrick Cantlay’s pair of Sundays at Muirfield Village over the last 13 months.
In last June’s Memorial Tournament, Cantlay fired an eight-under 64 in the final round to claim his second career PGA Tour victory. In Sunday’s Workday Charity Open, the 28-year-old tallied a blistering 65 en route to his first top-10 since the PGA Tour restart (if not for an impossible lie in the left rough off the 18th fairway, he might very well have carded a mirror-image 64).
In both events, Cantlay ranked near the top of the field in both Strokes Gained: Total and Tee-to-Green. The former Nicklaus Award winner tapped into the ballstriking abilities that have left him ranked in the top 10 on Tour in Strokes Gained: Approach in each of the last two seasons to slash through tricky approaches and slick greens designed by the Golden Bear himself.
On a course built for ballstrikers, it should come as no surprise that Cantlay looked similarly sharp on both Sundays. But in his eyes, the venue is where the similarities between the two rounds stop.
“Honestly, it would be a bit like playing Augusta National if they’d made it like regular tournament conditions as opposed to Masters conditions,” Cantlay told GOLF.com ahead of the start of this week’s Memorial Tournament. “All that learned experience, all that memory didn’t help as much (in the Workday Charity Open) as it will this next week.”
Cantlay is set to defend his title this week at the Memorial Tournament, the second consecutive event at Muirfield Village. But even after a T7 finish at the Workday Sunday, the World No. 10 admitted the first Muirfield event did little to prepare him for the second.
“I think it’s more of an advantage to have played (in the Memorial) and played well,” Cantlay said. “This will be my fourth Memorial, and the experience gained from those events will be much more like this week than any of the experience last week.”
“Just because of the different hole locations and course setup,” he said. “Drawing on the experience from the good experiences I’ve had in the past will be more important and more helpful this week.”
When the PGA Tour released its revised schedule in June, the addition of the second Muirfield tournament served a dual purpose — replacing the canceled John Deere Classic and providing a lead-in for the return of fans to the sport at the Memorial. Last week, rising Covid-19 cases nationwide forced the Tour to quash its plans involving spectators, but left the Workday in its slot at Muirfield.
Needing a course setup capable of sustaining eight tournament rounds in two weeks, MVGC Superintendent Chad Mark was forced to make concessions for the first event. The Muirfield staff reigned in its notoriously slippery greens in order to allow for different pin placements and trimmed down the rough. For Cantlay and other Memorial regulars, the Workday was Muirfield-lite, leaving little room to hone in their game for this week.
“I am looking forward to the greens going back to their normal 13-14 on the stimpmeter,” he said. “They were a little slow the first three days, they were a little faster on Sunday. But that was to be expected. I am really looking forward to going back to that Memorial feel and having the greens be lightning.”
But even if he can’t carry over much from the first Muirfield event into the second, you won’t hear Cantlay complain about twice playing a course tailor-made to his game.
“I love Muirfield Village and I think it’s one of the best golf courses we play,” Cantlay said. “I like it, it’s not something I think we want to get in the habit of doing, but given the circumstances, I think it made sense. From my perspective, we could have every Tour event there and it would be good for me.”
The learn more about Cantlay’s partnership with Marcus by Goldman Sachs, watch the new advertising spot starring Patrick and his father here.
