Patrick Cantlay takes leaf out of Scottie Scheffler's book in bid to win again on PGA Tour

Patrick Cantlay has revealed he has begun working with Scottie Scheffler's putting coach Phil Kenyon in a bid to end a three-year winless streak at this week's BMW Championship on the PGA Tour.

Cantlay, 33, is unthinkably winless on the PGA Tour since successfully defending the BMW Championship in August 2022. 

The first of his BMW Championship titles came at this week's venue, Caves Valley GC. 

Cantlay therefore has good vibes in Maryland, especially after backdooring a top-10 at the FedEx St Jude Championship last week.

That marked his best finish on the PGA Tour in seven events since a tied fourth at the Truist Championship in May. 

But if truth be told, Cantlay, who won the FedEx Cup in 2021, has looked a shadow of his former World No.3 best in recent seasons. 

The American's significant drop-off in form has seen him slide all the way down to 22nd in the Official World Golf Rankings (OWGR). 

He's also in a race against time to make the 2025 United States Ryder Cup team. 

One of the biggest fall-offs for Cantlay has been with the putter. 

When he first won the BMW Championship at Caves Valley in 2021, it was there where he earned the nickname Patty Ice because of the way he managed to hole putts under pressure. 

Over the last four seasons though, Cantlay has consistently dropped back in the strokes-gained putting category. 

He was 28th in 2021-22, 47th in 2022-23, 53rd in 2024 and a current 78th in 2025.

Cantlay's seemingly had enough of that trend and is finally doing something about it. 

He wants to be Patty Ice again. 

The eight-time PGA Tour winner confirmed during his pre-tournament press conference at the BMW Championship that he has taken a leaf out of Scheffler's book and hired putting coach Kenyon, who is considered one of the best putting coaches in the world.

When World No.1 Scheffler was experiencing issues with his putting, he not only listened to Rory McIlroy and got himself a mallet putter, but he also sought the advice of Kenyon, who he continues to work with today. 

Scheffler has won 11 times since working with Kenyon in early 2024, with three of those victories major wins. 

Kenyon's stable of stars has included the likes Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, Russell Henley, Henrik Stenson, Darren Clarke and a certain McIlroy through the years. 

Cantlay is hoping his latest decision to commence work with Kenyon will now see him hole more putts and consequently win again for the ninth time in his PGA Tour career.

"Yeah, I started working with Phil Kenyon recently and we're still in the early stages, so hopefully -- I'll do anything to make a few more putts," said Cantlay with a wry smile.

"A lot can change in three, four years, especially in this game," he added. 

"I think, like I say, anything I can do to just get a little better, whether that's a technique change or some little key here and there that I can pick up on, I'm going to try and explore that to see if I can get better. 

"That's really the root of the change."

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As a result of Cantlay's inconsistent season to date, he looks on from the 15th rung of the US Ryder Cup team ladder.

Cantlay was pressed for comment about whether he thinks he has done enough to earn a pick on Keegan Bradley's team, with two weeks left until deadline day. 

But he cleverly flipped the script. 

"Fortunately that's not -- I'm not in that predicament," said Cantlay about whether he would pick himself on the team.

"Keegan, however, is in that predicament. If I was the captain, I'd pick Keegan. I think he's played great."

Cantlay added: "I think it would be nice to go out the next two weeks and have some nice finishes and play well. 

"After last week, I feel like I have some momentum going in the right direction, and I feel really good about the things I'm working on in my game."

When it comes to the FedEx Cup race, Cantlay is sitting pretty enough at 19th in the standings.

A solid week at the BMW will see him cruise into the 30-man Tour Championship at East Lake next week, where he could still, despite a poor season by his own high standards, go on to win a second career FedEx Cup.