The legend of Patty Ice vociferously commenced in the soft hills of Maryland on the last day of rest in August 2021 at a place called Caves Valley Golf Club.
Matched against the Paul Bunyan character otherwise known as Bryson – some called him Bison – DeChambeau, calm, cool and collected Patrick Cantlay outlasted his muscular foe in front of thousands of fans testing the limits of their vocal cords to win the BMW Championship, the second of three legs forming the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
In an instant classic, Cantlay and his stoic, unflappable and unhurried ways outlasted the thundering force of DeChambeau to win a six-hole playoff by making a 17-footer for birdie on the 78th hole in the fading light.
But Cantlay dished up heroics before that, plenty of them, including rolling in a 21-footer for birdie on the 72nd hole to force the playoff, then staving off defeat on the first three extra holes with mid-range par putts. On the fifth extra hole, after DeChambeau knocked his tee shot to 6 feet on the par-3 17th, Cantlay watched his approach stop three feet from the cup.
After both found the fairway on the sixth playoff hole, Cantlay ended matters.
Throughout the finishing stages of regulation and the playoff, chants of “Patty Ice” whistled through the galleries, a takeoff on “Matty Ice,” the nickname of equally composed Matt Ryan, then the Atlanta Falcons quarterback.
“It was kind of the first time I had heard it ever, and I think it suits me – I think,” Cantlay said. “It rings a little true of my personality, and I think a moniker that really rings – that just has a partial bit of truth but maybe a larger exaggeration, or a larger – I don’t know what the right word is – but it tries to say almost too much but yet it just rings a little true.”
That week, Cantlay stuck to his own blueprint, stayed in his own quiet world, and unleashed his own style of fireworks in toppling his playing partner in a playoff. Cantlay gained 14.58 strokes on the field with his putting, the most strokes gained putting in a 72-hole event since tracking began on the PGA Tour in 2004. He made more than 537 feet of putts this week. And he was undaunted despite being outdriven all day – DeChambeau hit 48 drives longer than 320 yards for the week.
Both finished regulation at 27 under – Cantlay with rounds of 66-63-66-66, DeChambeau with rounds of 68-60-67-66. Cantlay made 31 birdies for the week while DeChambeau made 27 birdies and four…
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