Patrick Cantlay told his pace of play 'unbearable' during PGA Tour's season finale

Some golf fans suggested Patrick Cantlay should have been put on the clock during the PGA Tour's season finale.

The American Ryder Cup hopeful went into the final round of the Tour Championship at East Lake co-leading with Tommy Fleetwood.

Cantlay got off to the worst possible start, making a bogey at the first hole and four-putting the second green for a disastrous double.

He then steadied the ship with birdies at the third and sixth to reduce Fleetwood's advantage. 

But there was no denying the 33-year-old was, once again, very deliberate in his approach. 

So much so, in fact, that the commentary team on NBC's broadcast pointed out the golfer was 'taking his time again'. 

That comment arrived on the driveable par-four eighth hole where Cantlay took 38 seconds to hit his tee shot after he addressed his golf ball.

His pre-shot routine resurrected memories of the 2023 Open Championship where golf fans counted the number of waggles eventual champion Brian Harman took. 

"He's not gonna hit it until he's ready," chimed in Kevin Kisner on the broadcast.

Cantlay sprayed his shot wildly right, but managed to make a solid par after hitting a delightful flop shot onto the green with water looming.

Fleetwood was also in trouble off the tee but managed to make par. The group were then told to speed up, according to Sky Sports. 

"It's certainly not Tommy that is the slow one," added former European Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley. 

"It's unwatchable," one X user wrote. Another added: "Put them on the clock!"

@MarkPascoe wrote: "It took them 17 minutes to play that hole. It's a joke. He needs to be penalised. They won't be done until midnight the way he plays."

Patrick Cantlay on his pace of play

Patrick Cantlay has been accused of playing far too slowly on several occasions. 

Brooks Koepka was very grumpy with the golfer at the 2023 Masters, explaining that he was forced to wait on every shot during the final round. 

For his part, Cantlay said that he too was forced to wait. He has admitted, though, that he is slower than average. 

"Have been my whole career," he previously said. "I definitely take my time… when I hit my ball on a bulkhead, I'm definitely going to take my time to make sure I make the right decision."

Some PGA Tour members have leapt to Cantlay's defence. 

Michael Kim recently took to X to explain: "Patrick Cantlay gets a bad rap on being slow lol.

"He takes a bit extra over the ball which is when TV shows him but he takes no practice swings and [is] quick to the ball so in the end he's nowhere close to being the slowest guy out here."