PACIFIC PALISADES, Calif. — Patrick Cantlay, playing partner for Sunday’s final round of the Genesis Invitational, and Xander the biggest threat standing in the way of his first win in the coveted hometown event at Riviera Country Club・I will play against Schauffele.
In fact, Cantlay and Schauffele need no introduction at all.
They are best friends, live near each other in Florida, eat together, socialize, vacation together, play golf together, and in some cases win golf tournaments together.
Schauffele estimates he and Cantlay have played more than 100 practice rounds together on the PGA Tour, Ryder Cup and Presidents Cup team events, but that number is likely conservative.
But on Sunday at the Riviera, the best friends will be paired up in the final round to compete for the same title and trophy. Cantlay leads the tournament at 14 under, followed by Schauffele at 12 under.
“We’ve played several final rounds together, so it should be a comfortable pairing,” Cantlay said. “I’m looking forward to it. We play most practice rounds together and play a lot at home too. Nothing will be different than usual.”
Except, the first prize was $4 million…and Cantlay, a Long Beach, Calif., native and UCLA graduate, won at the course he so desperately wanted to win.
“Yes, this is the golf course that I grew up on, played many times in college, and even hosted the NCAA Championships here,” Cantlay said. “Being from Southern California, this is one of the tournaments on my list that I most want to win.”
Mr. Schauffele, a native of San Diego, is similarly active with Mojo in his home state.
“For us, this is a very comfortable combination,” Schauffele said. “We play a lot every week and we both love to compete. We’ve played in the finals bracket a few times. I gave him my best in the Travelers and he gave me the BMW We know where we stand and how we compete against each other.”
The two have played together on the PGA Tour’s Zurich team event three times and won together once. The two have paired up in 11 team matches (four Ryder Cups, seven Presidents Cups) and have a record of six wins and five losses.
On the PGA Tour, the two have been paired 20 times in tournament play, with Cantlay carding in the bottom 10 times, Schauffele eight times, and finishing tied twice. Schauffele averaged 68.5 points in those 20 games, while Cantlay averaged 69 points.
They have been paired twice in the final round of the tournament. Cantlay won the 2022 BMW with a final round of 69 points to Schauffele’s 71 points. Schauffele won the 2022 Travelers with a final round of 59 points to Cantlay’s 76 points.
“When we play Monday and Tuesday, we’re trying to outdo each other,” Schauffele said. “I think the only time we can really root for each other is when we’re playing team events. Of course I want to see him do well, but being in the final group together… , it’s very clear what we’re trying to do.”
Cantlay entered Saturday’s final round at 13 under, five shots behind, and looked like he could escape the tournament with two strong rounds over the weekend.
But in Saturday’s third round, Schauffele could only shoot a 1-under 70, while Schauffele did everything he could to keep his teammate at bay, posting a 6-under 65 to take a precious five strokes off the lead.
“I just wanted to challenge myself tomorrow,” Schauffele said.
Mission complete.
While our two friends are at the top of the leaderboard, don’t count out Will Zalatoris, who is making a spectacular comeback from hip surgery that wiped out his 2023 season. Zalatoris, who had a hole-in-one on Friday, shot a 65 on Saturday to tie for second place with Schauffele at 12 under.
Luke List is 11 under, Jason Day and Harris English are 10 under. That pretty much concludes the list of players who have a realistic chance of taking home the $4 million winner’s check.
The theme of Sunday’s final round is certainly about two close friends and how they compete against each other.
The most recent of Cantlay’s eight career wins came at the 2022 BMW Championship.
“Golf is like that sometimes,” he said. “I had a few close calls, most recently for a year. [2021] I felt like every close call went my way, which hasn’t been the case for the past year or so, but I hope to change that tomorrow. ”
