The Genesis Invitational: Patrick Cantlay looking to go one better on his favourite course
- Dave Tindall
- 17 February 2022
After losing out in a play-off to Scottie Scheffler in Phoenix last Sunday, Cantlay is hoping to take victory in this week’s showdown at Riviera Country Club.
Patrick Cantlay has extra motivation to lift the trophy in this week's Genesis Invitational in Los Angeles.
As a resident of Southern California, this is a tournament he's had his eyes on winning since attending it as a boy with his father and grandpa.
Cantlay calls host venue Riviera Country Club his "favourite course" in the world but so far the World No.3 hasn't been able to produce his own perfect Hollywood ending.
Is the week that changes?
All the world's top 10 have headed to Pacific Palisades in L.A. but few can match the high-class consistency Cantlay has displayed so far in 2022.
In four starts, he's finished fourth at both the Tournament of Champions and the Pebble Beach Pro-Am, ninth at The American Express and runner-up at last week's Waste Management Phoenix Open where he lost a play-off to Scottie Scheffler at the third extra hole.
It's a season of close but no cigar to this point but where better than Riviera to change the script?
"I'm trying to win every tournament that I show up to," said Cantlay earlier this week. "But I think this one would be special for a number of reasons, hometown on my favourite golf course on Tour.
"I'm hoping that someday my day will be here at this golf course and I'll be able to win."
Cantlay was fourth at Riviera in 2018 and has finished 15th, 17th and 15th in the last three years after not quite being able to cash in on strong starts.
But, in his current form, many believe this is his time.
On playing in his home event
"It's a tournament I went to growing up as a little kid with my dad and my grandpa and then played NCAAs here when I was in college at UCLA, my last year there.
"It's a golf course that I think is one of the best if not the best on Tour, so I love being here this week.
On what makes Riviera such a great course
"I think it defends par without getting tricked up better than any golf course I've ever been to.
"They rarely grow any rough, there's basically no rough out there, there's no water, you only can really hit it out of bounds on the 12th hole and yet 13, 14, 15, 16 under wins pretty much every time.
"They could make it a lot harder if they wanted to, and they give you the first hole as a par-5 with a 3-wood and a 7-iron. I think it's an amazing test of golf."
On the importance of being familiar with Riviera's kikuyu grass
"I think most people's problems with kikuyu is they never play on kikuyu.
"There aren't very many places in the world where we see this grass; even the other L.A. courses don't really have kikuyu.
"So anytime you have to play on a surface that you've never played on before or played very rarely, it's difficult. I fortunately grew up a southern Californian so I like the kikuyu grass and don't think it's that particularly difficult."
On his play-off loss in Phoenix and the state of his game
"Obviously I would have liked to get over the finish line, but I did as best as I possibly could and that was the result and sometimes that's how it goes.
"I'm really happy for Scottie to get his first win because he's a great guy and he deserved it, he played great."
"I played really solid. I felt like I always kept going forward, I didn't make too many bogeys, and on a golf course that I hadn't seen before, I thought I played really well.
"I drove the ball well, putted well and I feel like my game's in a really good spot."
