Patrick Cantlay thinks the Masters was ‘slow for everyone’ after Brooks Koepka’s criticism
Brooks Koepka called out Patrick Cantlay indirectly on Sunday at Augusta National for his “brutally slow” play
The final round at the Masters, especially for Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm in the final group, was painfully slow.
And even though Keopka didn’t call out Patrick Cantlay by name, he had plenty to say about the group in front of him at Augusta National.
Cantlay, however, isn’t taking any of that blame. In his eyes, he said Tuesday ahead of the RBC Heritage in South Carolina, slow play was an issue for everyone.
“I mean, 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,” he said. “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.”
Sure, Koepka wasn’t in a great mood after the final round of the Masters. He had just blown a four-shot lead and fell to Rahm in the end, after all.
But he didn’t hold back when calling out Cantlay and playing partner Viktor Hovland on Sunday night.
“The group in front of us was brutally slow,” Koepka said. “Jon went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.”
It didn’t look like it was a joint issue between Hovland and Cantlay, either. The 13th hole drew plenty of attention after Koepka’s comments.
Hovland was seen chipping around the green on the par 5 while Cantlay and his caddie were still well back in the fairway. While that happens sometimes, the gap between the two players and their caddies was much larger than normal.
Viktor definitely sending Cantlay a message at this stage of the round. pic.twitter.com/Y70kfAi73K
— TweeterAlliss (Parody) (by Jove) (@TweeterAlliss) April 9, 2023
Cantlay finished the day 3-over, which pushed him to T14 on the week. Hovland, who went 2-over on Sunday, finished T7.
“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 going to take longer and longer to hole out,” Cantlay said Tuesday. “I think that may have been what attributed to some of the slow play on Sunday, 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 think it’s just the nature of playing professional golf, where every shot matters so much.”
