Patrick Cantlay Confidenty Defends His Pace Of Play At The Masters | Balls.ie

The golfing world united on social media after the Masters to not only applaud the popular win of Jon Rahm, but also to lament the excruciating slow play of Patrick Cantlay, which was so clearly evident on our TV screens.

Cantlay and Viktor Hovland were playing in the second last group, and Brooks Koepka - playing with Rahm in the final pairing - refereed to them as "brutally slow".

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Heading into this week's PGA Tour designated event, the RBC Heritage, Cantlay addressed the issue and and defended his pace of play.

We finished the first hole, and the group in front of us was on the second tee when we walked up to the second tee, and we waited all day on pretty much every shot.

We waited in 15 fairway, we waited in 18 fairway. I imagine it was slow for everyone.

Patrick Cantlay Defends Slow Play At The Masters

Patrick Cantlay strikes back at criticism of slow play in Masters.

See his full comments: https://t.co/AyUZbRoCBs pic.twitter.com/rHIqs8m2Hi

— Golf Digest (@GolfDigest) April 12, 2023

Viktor literally cannot wait any longer for Patrick Cantlay. pic.twitter.com/GtdlmLHPzn

— TweeterAlliss (Parody) (by Jove) (@TweeterAlliss) April 9, 2023

READ HERE: Lowry And Power Take Home Nice Pay Cheques Despite Poor Masters Finishes

“One thing that's interesting sitting on the PAC is you get all the numbers and the data, and rounds have taken about the same length of time for the last 10 or 20 years that they currently take," he continued.

"When you play a golf course like Augusta National, where all the hole locations are on lots of slope and the greens are really fast, it's just going to take longer and longer to hole out.

“I think that may have been what attributed to some of the slow play on Sunday [at the Masters], and then also, when the wind is gusting and the wind is blowing maybe inconsistently, that's when guys will take a long time, too. I that's just the nature of playing professional golf, where every shot matters so much.”

While there were slow players ahead, most notably Sam Bennett, there is substantial evidence that Cantlay contributed to the waiting of the final group - as seen by viewers on their screens, and through the actions of Hovland.