“It felt like a big deal to me at the time” - Patrick Cantlay opens up on his ‘humble’ experience on visiting Tiger Woods’ house

Patrick Cantlay has had the chance to talk to Tiger Woods many times, but one of those times was especially memorable. The Legend gave him a little lesson about being humble after he won the Jack Nicklaus Award, something Cantlay described as "a big deal" for him.

The event occurred in 2021, when Patrick Cantlay had just won the PGA Tour Player of the Year Award, and Tiger Woods invited him to his home. This week, before the start of The Sentry 2024, Cantlay recounted that day while talking to the press.

Here is part of what Patrick Cantlay had to say (via the Mirror):

"I went over to Tiger’s house, I think, to talk Ryder Cup after I had won Player of the Year [back in 2021], and it felt like a big deal to me at the time that I had got a Player of the Year, and they give you this little Jack Nicklaus bronze trophy.

"So we’re walking through Tiger’s house, and we’re in the basement, and he’s got, like, 11 of ’em lined up right next to each other all in the corner of the basement — boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. I go, 'Hey, I’m catching up. 'And he looked at me and he goes, ‘You got a lot of work to do.'”

Among the many recognitions Tiger Woods has received for his merits in professional golf is having won the PGA Tour Player of the Year eleven times. On two occasions he received it in consecutive seasons (1999-2003 and 2005-2007). Woods is, by far, the player who has won this award the most times since its inception in 1990.

Cantlay received the Jack Nicklaus Award in 2021 after the best season of his career so far. His results included four wins and three other Top 10s.

Two of his victories came in the regular season (ZOZO Championship and The Memorial). The other two came in the playoffs (BMW Championship and TOUR Championship). This gave him the FedEx Cup title.

As a curious detail, Viktor Hovland re-edited what Cantlay did in 2021, by taking home the 2023 FedEx Cup after winning back-to-back BMW Championship and Tour Championship.

Patrick Cantlay at The Sentry 2024

The first round of The Sentry went very well for Patrick Cantlay, who finished with a score of 7-under 66. This score placed him at T7, tied with Scottie Scheffler and other players. Cantlay's performance was one eagle, five birdies and zero bogeys.

Cantlay started the second round in the penultimate group, accompanied by Tommy Fleetwood and Tony Finau. In the first two holes, he made par and kept his score at -7.

The tournament is temporarily led by Tyrrell Hatton and Brendon Todd, both with -15. The first-round leader, Sahith Theegala, is in T6 with -12, although he has six holes left.