Patrick Cantlay is now a very rich man. 

Two Sundays ago, Cantlay won the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Ga. in the final PGA event of the year. In doing so, Cantlay took home a massive $15 million paycheck — the biggest in golf. Before winning, Cantlay had made just $14.6 million in total earnings on the PGA Tour. It is safe to say it was a good day for the 29-year-old California native.

Cantlay won the previous week’s event, the BMW Championship, in an epic six hole playoff against Bryson Dechambeau. They battled down the stretch and were neck and neck in the playoff, until Cantlay sealed the deal with a 20 foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. DeChambeau left a lot of putts on the golf course, which kept the door open for Cantlay, who was money on the greens in Maryland. Cantlay finished an incredible 27 under par (no, that is not a typo) at Caves Valley Golf Club. The putter was rolling for Cantlay, as he gained 14.577 strokes on the greens, the most ever in a golf tournament. It was a duel for the ages, as the even-keeled Cantlay took down big, bad Brooksy — ahem, I mean Bryson. 

Cantlay’s performance at the Tour Championship was more of the same. He started at 10 under par as a result of the previous week’s win, so he had an advantage on the field. He went into each day of the tournament with the lead, never faltering, shooting a consistent score each day with a 66, two 67’s and a 69 on Sunday. Jon Rahm came close, but not close enough as Cantlay finished 18 with a birdie to seal the one-shot victory.

Cantlay had a fantastic season, winning four tournaments, including the last two weeks of the PGA Tour season. Prior to this season, he had only won two tour events: the Memorial in 2019 and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in 2017. He only played one event from 2014-16 due to a back injury, and in 2016 his caddie and close friend was killed in a hit and run accident. Cantlay has gone through a lot, so his success this year means even more. 

Many, including myself, think of Patrick Cantlay as a boring winner. I used to watch him play, and he would never smile. He would wear these boring outfits that were either all black or all white, and it just was not that much fun to watch him. But what I have learned over the past few weeks is that Cantlay is just locked in all the time. He’s there to do a job and that is to win golf tournaments. It was evident in the battle against Bryson that Cantlay’s calm demeanor paid off. Bryson’s antics were on full display, but they did not rattle Cantlay or affect how he played or acted. He simply did his business. For a guy that does not show that much emotion, it was great to see Cantlay smile after his victory when he accomplished one of the great feats in golf.