2012–2016: Early years and injury struggles In June 2012, Cantlay decided to forgo his final two years of college to turn professional. This meant that he forfeited his spot at the
2012 Open Championship. He signed with
Mark Steinberg and Excel Sports Management, the same management team as
Tiger Woods. Cantlay made his professional debut at the
Travelers Championship. He opened with a 75 and followed with a 67 to miss the cut by two strokes. He made his first cut as a professional the following week, at the
AT&T National. He shot a final-round 82 to finish tied-66th. Cantlay played in the
Chiquita Classic on the
Web.com Tour in September 2012 after earning a place in the field through a
Monday qualifier. He shot 22-under 266 to finish in a three-way tie for first alongside
Russell Henley and
Morgan Hoffmann. Henley won the title on the first playoff hole. At the 2012
PGA Tour Qualifying Tournament in December, Cantlay finished nine strokes shy of earning a PGA Tour card. He received sponsors' exemptions to play on the PGA Tour in the first two months of 2013, at the
Humana Challenge,
Farmers Insurance Open,
AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am and
Northern Trust Open. He finished tied-ninth at Pebble Beach but missed the cut in the other events. At the Web.com Tour's
Colombia Championship in March 2013, Cantlay shot a final-round 66 to win by four strokes and claim his first victory as a professional. At , he became the second-youngest player to win on the Web.com Tour, after
Jason Day who won aged 19. While warming up to play in the
Crowne Plaza Invitational on the PGA Tour in May, Cantlay experienced a sharp pain, which he said "felt like somebody stuck a knife in my back". He attempted to play through the pain but ultimately withdrew, and was later diagnosed with a
stress fracture in his
L5 vertebrae. After missing the cut at the
Cox Classic in August, he fell to 29th in the rankings, outside the top 25 required to earn a PGA Tour card. Cantlay finished runner-up at the
Hotel Fitness Championship the following week to secure a card for the
2013–14 PGA Tour season. Cantlay continued to struggle with his back injury and made only six starts on the PGA Tour in 2014, with his best finish being a tie for 23rd. Cantlay planned to make his return at the
CareerBuilder Challenge in January 2016, but suffered an injury setback and was advised to take another year to recover. Cantlay recalled in 2017: "I'm already at the lowest point I could be, I feel so far away from where my goals are, and then that happened. For a while, it just made me feel like nothing was important." He visited various doctors, and traveled to Germany to undergo the
Regenokine procedure, but was informed the back injury necessitated rest. He was unable to participate in strenuous activities and recalled that, aside from a physical therapy appointment each day, "there wasn't much reason to get up in the morning."
2017: Return to golf, first PGA Tour victory Cantlay made his return from injury at the
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February 2017, which was his first professional start since November 2014. He finished tied-48th. This was one of 10 PGA Tour starts he had remaining on his major medical exemption. He tied for third at the
RBC Heritage in April, two strokes behind
Wesley Bryan. In his return to tour, Cantlay played a light schedule and prioritized rest. He did not play consecutive weeks until the
2017 FedEx Cup Playoffs began in August. At the first playoff event,
The Northern Trust, Cantlay finished tied-10th. The following week, he finished tied-13th at the
Dell Technologies Championship. Cantlay then played the
BMW Championship, where he birdied the final hole to finish in a tie for ninth. This moved him from 41st to 29th in the season-long rankings and secured qualification for the
Tour Championship, despite making only 12 starts during the season. He finished tied-20th at the Tour Championship. Cantlay was nominated for the
PGA Tour Rookie of the Year award, but lost out to
Xander Schauffele. At the
Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November, Cantlay shot a 5-under 67 in the final round to enter a three-way playoff for the title, along with
Alex Čejka and
Whee Kim. After all three players bogeyed the first extra hole, Cantlay won with par on the second hole to secure his first PGA Tour victory. With the win, he received $1,224,000 and a two-year exemption on tour.
2018–2020: Reaching the top ten of the world rankings In 2018, Cantlay recorded top-5 finishes at both the
Genesis Open and the
Memorial Tournament, and qualified for the
Tour Championship for the second year in a row. As the defending champion at the 2018
Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November, he finished solo-second, one stroke behind
Bryson DeChambeau. At the
2019 Masters Tournament in April, Cantlay shot an 8-under 64 in the third round to move into contention. He took the lead in the final round at 12-under after making eagle on the par-5 15th, but dropped two shots in the final three holes to finish tied-ninth, three strokes behind the winner
Tiger Woods. This was Cantlay's first top-10 finish in a
major championship. In his next major start, at the
2019 PGA Championship held at
Bethpage Black in May, he posted 2-under 278 to share third place. Cantlay won his second PGA Tour title at the
Memorial Tournament in June 2019. He shot a final-round 64 to overcome a four-shot deficit after 54 holes. With the win, Cantlay moved to No. 8 in the
Official World Golf Ranking, marking the first time he reached the top ten of the world rankings. In August, he finished runner-up at the
BMW Championship, three strokes behind
Justin Thomas. Cantlay also finished second at the
Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in November, where he lost to
Kevin Na in a playoff. As a rookie at the
2019 Presidents Cup in December, Cantlay played all five sessions as the U.S. team won 16–14. He had a record, including a win in the singles against
Joaquín Niemann. In his first start of 2020, Cantlay finished fourth at the
Sentry Tournament of Champions. The PGA Tour was suspended from March to June due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. After the resumption of the tour, Cantlay finished tied-seventh at the
Workday Charity Open in July. In October, Cantlay claimed his third victory on the PGA Tour at the
Zozo Championship. He shot 23-under 265 to finish one stroke ahead of
Jon Rahm and
Justin Thomas.
2021: FedEx Cup winner, PGA Tour Player of the Year At
The American Express in January 2021, Cantlay made the halfway cut on the number. He finished with an 11-under 61, which broke the course record at
PGA West's Stadium Course, to post 22-under 266 and hold the clubhouse lead. He ultimately placed solo-second, one stroke behind 54-hole leader
Si Woo Kim. In February, Cantlay shot a 10-under 62 in the first round of the
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, which tied the course record at
Pebble Beach Golf Links. He finished the tournament in a tie for third. In June, Cantlay won the
Memorial Tournament for a second time. He tied for first at 13-under and defeated
Collin Morikawa in the ensuing playoff. Cantlay won his second tournament of the year at the
BMW Championship in August. He was tied for first at 27-under 271 with
Bryson DeChambeau, and won on the sixth hole of a sudden-death playoff. During the tournament, Cantlay gained 14.58 strokes on the field with his putting, which was the most in a 72-hole tournament since
strokes gained data began to be tracked on the PGA Tour in 2004. As the leader in the
FedEx Cup standings, Cantlay entered the
Tour Championship in September at 10-under-par in the starting strokes format. Prior to the tournament, he criticized the starting strokes format, stating: "I dislike the fact that no one knows, when they look at the leaderboard, who shot the lowest round this week." He totaled 21-under to win the tournament by one stroke ahead of
Jon Rahm. He also won the FedEx Cup title and received the $15 million season-long bonus payout. Later that month, Cantlay was voted the
PGA Tour Player of the Year. Cantlay automatically qualified to represent the United States at the
2021 Ryder Cup, which was his debut in the competition. The United States defeated Europe by a score of 19–9 and Cantlay had an unbeaten record, including a win in his singles match against
Shane Lowry.
2022: Continued success At the
WM Phoenix Open in February, Cantlay shot a final-round 67 to tie for first at 16-under 268. He lost on the third hole of a playoff against
Scottie Scheffler. Cantlay also finished runner-up at the
RBC Heritage in April, where he lost in a playoff to
Jordan Spieth. The following week, Cantlay and
Xander Schauffele shot a best-ball 59 in the first round of the
Zurich Classic of New Orleans. They ultimately won the event by two strokes over
Sam Burns and
Billy Horschel. This was Cantlay's seventh PGA Tour title. Cantlay finished tied-third as defending champion at the
Memorial Tournament in June. He finished tied-eighth at the
2022 Open Championship, held at the
Old Course at St Andrews in July. Afterwards, he stated that he had no plans to leave the PGA Tour to join
LIV Golf. Later in July, Cantlay finished tied-second at the
Rocket Mortgage Classic, five strokes behind
Tony Finau. In August, Cantlay successfully defended his title at the
BMW Championship. With the win, he moved to a new high of third in the
Official World Golf Ranking. Cantlay qualified for the U.S. team at the
2022 Presidents Cup in September; he had a record, including a win in his singles match against
Adam Scott. At the
Shriners Children's Open in October, Cantlay shot a third-round 60 to share the lead after 54 holes. He made a triple bogey on the final hole of the tournament to finish runner-up, three strokes behind
Tom Kim.
2023–2025: Winless seasons During the final round of the
2023 Masters Tournament in April, Cantlay played in the penultimate pairing. He shot 75 to finish tied-14th and received criticism for his slow pace of play. The following week, Cantlay was in contention to win the
RBC Heritage. He finished in third-place, one stroke outside of a two-way playoff, and was heckled by spectators for his pace of play. After acing the par-3 7th hole in the second round of the RBC Heritage, he posted a video on
Twitter of his hole in one with the caption: "Playing faster!" At the
FedEx St. Jude Championship in August, Cantlay shot a final-round 64 to tie for the lead. He was defeated in a playoff by
Lucas Glover. Cantlay played for the U.S. team in the
2023 Ryder Cup in September. The European team won 16.5–11.5 and Cantlay went , including a win in the Sunday singles against
Justin Rose. During the event, Cantlay refused to wear a team hat. This was reported to be a form to protest to state that players should be paid for playing in Ryder Cup; Cantlay denied this and said the hat simply "didn't fit". The controversy led to European fans nicknaming Cantlay as "No Hat Pat" and chanting "Hats off to your bank account". Journalist
Michael Bamberger claimed that Cantlay had said, in reference to
PGA of America executive Julius Mason, "I'll wear a hat when I'm paid to be here like he is." In 2024, the PGA of America announced that each United States player would receive a $200,000 stipend for participating in the Ryder Cup, beginning with the 2025 edition. At the
Genesis Invitational in February 2024, Cantlay held a two-stroke lead after 54 holes. He shot a 1-over 72 in the final round to finish tied-fourth. In June, at the
2024 U.S. Open held at
Pinehurst No. 2, Cantlay shot a 5-under 65 to share the first-round lead alongside
Rory McIlroy. He ultimately finished tied-third at 4-under 276. This tie for third equaled his best finish in a major championship. Cantlay qualified for the
2024 Presidents Cup in September. The United States won by a score of 18.5–11.5 and Cantlay had a record, including a win in his singles match against
Taylor Pendrith. This brought Cantlay's record to in team events as a professional. Cantlay was tied for the lead after 54 holes at the
Tour Championship in August 2025, alongside
Tommy Fleetwood. He shot a final-round 71 to finish tied-second, three strokes behind Fleetwood. This meant that Cantlay remained winless on tour since 2022. In September, he was selected as a captain's pick for the
2025 Ryder Cup. He went , including a loss in singles to
Ludvig Åberg, as the United States lost by a score of 15–13. ==Personal life==