PACIFIC PALISADES — Did Patrick Cantlay call it Saturday afternoon?
He led by five shots after Friday’s second round of the Genesis Invitational, the largest 36-hole lead at Los Angeles’ PGA Tour stop since 1983. Saturday, the former Servite High and UCLA golfer played as if his main goal was to stay out of trouble, and while he still led by three shots after his 1-under 70, he’d left the door ajar.
“I’ve had some close calls,” he said after that round. “I had a year not too long ago where it felt like every close call went my way, and lately it hasn’t been like that the last year or so, but looking to change that (Sunday).”
Uh, no.
That door that was left open a crack? Hideki Matsuyama took advantage. The former Masters champion swiped the trophy with a final round 62 fueled by nine birdies, six on the back nine, to tie the tournament record for a final round and come within one shot of the tournament record for any round.
Cantlay was playing on home turf before friendly galleries, including USC football coach Lincoln Riley (and it’s not known if he could bring himself to root for a former Bruin), but in the end Cantlay was reduced to a not-so-innocent bystander.
Playing to stay out of trouble sometimes gets you in trouble. Cantlay had a string of 10 straight pars – the 18th Saturday, following a bogey on 17, and the front nine on Sunday – before things blew up. Cantlay bogeyed 10, 13 and 15, and by then Matsuyama – playing four groups ahead of Cantlay and Xander Schauffele – had turned it into a boat race, finishing three shots ahead of runners-up Will Zalatoris and Luke List.
Cantlay finished four shots back of Matsuyama. He missed an 18-footer for par on 10, had an 11-footer for eagle on 11 and settled for a birdie, parred 12, missed a 19½-footer for par on 13, missed a 15-footer for birdie on 14, hit his first two shots on 15 into bunkers but still had an 8-foot, 9-inch putt for par and missed, and had a 9-footer for…
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