The next villain after PGA stars bolted to LIV? Tour pro: "Patrick Cantlay"

PGA Tour pro Patrick Cantlay is one of the strongest voices over governance issues in player meetings, according to a report. 

Ben Smith's picture
Tue, 14 Mar 2023
The next villain after PGA stars bolted to LIV? Tour pro: "Patrick Cantlay"

When you think of the players the LIV Golf League have signed, one common phrase thrown about is that they've stolen all of the villains from the PGA Tour. 

First you've got Brooks Koepka, who appeared to go full villain in the eyes of Rory McIlroy after his shock decision to bolt from the PGA despite his previous comments about selling out. 

Related: Could this axed LIV Golf captain make a quick return?

McIlroy described Koepka as duplicitous. The American's response was simply to say that 'opinions change'. 

Koepka was then involved in a tense press conference on his LIV Golf debut in Portland where he went on the attack. 

He has simply not shied away from voicing his opinion ever since. 

Elsewhere, you've got Phil Mickelson. Do we need to say any more than just mention his name?

Then you've got Bryson DeChambeau, Patrick Reed, Kevin Na, Ian Poulter and Sergio Garcia who all have had interesting exchanges throughout their careers. 

In this writer's opinion, each and everyone of the above could be described as folks you simply love to hate. 

PGA Tour pro Harry Higgs previously spoke about this in an interview with Golfweek, describing the lack of a**holes as a 'problem'. 

He told the publication:

"But we joke back and forth - they took all the a**holes. They took all the villains. And that's a problem. They took some of our best players, too. But those who have left haven't put this in a spot where it's like, oh, s***, you know, all the great players are gone and playing somewhere else."

Which now begs the question, who will now fill the void as the PGA Tour's bad boy? 

Scottie Scheffler celebrated winning the Players Championship by going to get ice cream with his grandmother and wife Meredith Scudder, so he's out. 

The aforementioned McIlroy is certainly opinionated. As is Jon Rahm, who is also fiery on the course. But could they really be villains? 

According to reporting by Alan Shipnuck of The FirePit Collective, one player who could certainly fill this role is Patrick Cantlay

Shipnuck's most recent #AskAlan stated that Cantlay apparently is a strong voice in the player meetings. 

So much so, one tour pro reportedly described Cantlay as 'a terrific penis' over some governance issues.

Wrote Shipnuck:

"Recently a Tour player who has had to deal with Cantlay on some governance issues described him to me as a "terrific penis." I was slightly baffled until another person in the conversation said, "That means he's a big d***." I haven’t laughed that hard in ages. Cantlay can certainly be smug and smarmy, which is a good starting point for villainy. So is a Goldman Sachs hat. But Cantlay is so corporate and controlled I don't think he'll ever lean into the role like an Ian Poulter or a Patrick Reed, which is a shame because, as you point out, there are presently way too many nice, normal, boring dudes on the PGA Tour."

What do you think? Is there a player out there on the PGA Tour who could step into the fold as the player you love to hate?

Tweet us your thoughts. 

Next page: Nine players who changed their mind about LIV Golf