By Staff and Wire Reports of Global Golf Post

After all that Patrick Cantlay has been through in his still-young-career – a back injury that sidelined him for an extended period and the accidental death of his caddie – having to work a little extra to pick up his first PGA Tour win seemed only natural.

Cantlay hit a brilliant low, cut 4-iron behind a tree to set up the winning par on a maddeningly difficult 18th hole at TPC Summerlin to finally end a difficult day.

“Just a lot of hard work. I had so many lows. It’s just so different from where I was that it’s hard to describe the feeling,” Cantlay said.

Cantlay was the top-ranked amateur in the world for 55 weeks and considered a sure-fire success on the PGA Tour until sustaining a stress fracture in his back. More than three years of recovery stalled his expected ascension.

This was not the traditional week in Las Vegas, at least not in terms of scoring. Typically a place where 20-under par isn’t always enough, TPC Summerlin was difficult in the windy conditions, turning what’s typically a shootout into a grind instead. Alex Čejka was the outlier, shooting 63 Sunday then waiting more than two hours to find himself in a playoff.

Just making a par on the finishing holes became a challenge for the contenders. J.J. Spaun was tied for the lead at the par-3 17th but double-bogeyed the last two holes to miss out on his first Tour win.

Chesson Hadley bogeyed the 18th to miss the playoff by one stroke. Cantlay bogeyed the 17th and 18th holes but still managed to squeeze into the playoff. Whee Kim didn’t make a bogey Sunday until the 18th hole when a par would have won him the tournament outright.

For Cantlay, the victory in Las Vegas may have been just the start.

Driver: Titleist 917D2 (9.5 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon Diamana S-Series 73X

3 Wood: Titleist 915F (15 degrees)
Shaft: Mitsubishi Rayon S+ 70TX

Hybrid: Titleist 816 H2 (21 degrees)
Shaft: Fujikura Speeder Evolution HB 95X

Irons: Titleist 716 AP2 (4-PW)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue X100

Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM5 (54-10 S Grind), Titleist Vokey SM6 (56 and 60 degrees)
Shafts: True Temper Dynamic Gold Tour Issue S400

Putter: Scotty Cameron GSS prototype

Golf Ball: Titleist Pro V1x

Republished with permission from Global Golf Post