‘I’d Be Curious to Know…’: Hours After Matt Fitzpatrick’s ‘Appalling’ Remarks Went Viral, Nonchalant Patrick Cantlay Hits It Back With a Strong Statement
Slow play has been a significantly discussed aspect of golf in the last few days. What brought attention to the slow playing of the game was Patrick Cantlay‘s game in the third round of the Masters at Augusta. Many golfers have commented on Cantlay’s slow speed. However, it was his turn to say what was on his mind about his speed.
Patrick Cantlay’s reply to Matt Fitzpatrick
In an interview recently, the recent RBC Heritage winner, Matt Fitzpatrick, called Cantlay’s speed appalling. The two were paired together in the designated PGA event and commenting on Cantlay’s speed, Fitzpatrick said that he had extremely strong opinions about the slow playing, but nobody would take any action on it. The speed of the game has been in the talks for a lot of time, but no strict action is ever taken about it
Now, in a press conference for Zurich Classic, New Orleans, Patrick Cantlay took a hit back at the English golfer. Upon asking about Fitzpatrick’s comments on the speed, Cantlay replied, “I mean, like I said, being on the PAC’S been interesting because the times that it’s taken to play rounds has been pretty much the same for the last ten or even longer years. So trying to speed it up, I’d be curious to know how they’d want to do that.”
Cantlay then continued to speak and said that his group has never been warned about the speed and had always been in the position. “I played the last two tournaments, and my group hasn’t been warned at all. So we’ve been in the position the entire time. I don’t know how you would want even the groups that I’ve been in to play faster when our groups are in position and can’t go faster because the group in front of us is right in front of us”
A reporter asked Cantlay if he thinks he’s a slower player, to which his reply was befitting. He said, “Yeah, I’m definitely slower than average, have been my whole career. I definitely take my time. And when I hit my ball on a bulkhead, I’m definitely going to take my time to make sure I make the right decision and try to get the ball back into the right spot.”
What initiated the slow-play drama between Patrick Cantlay and Matt Fitzpatrick?
The two extremely renowned and skilled golfers were paired together for the RBC Heritage Tour’s final round at Harbour Town. Fitzpatrick is known to be one of the fastest golfers and he made it clear that he was not happy being paired with the slower players. Taking a dig at Cantlay, the English golfer said he tried his best to walk as slowly as possible on Sunday. But as it turns out, he was still fast.
