Golf fans were seemingly all united for two reasons during the final-round broadcast of the Tour Championship. For one, they were happy to see Tommy Fleetwood finally win his maiden PGA Tour title. For another, they weren’t happy watching Patrick Cantlay’s pre-shot routine over and over again.
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The eight-time PGA Tour winner’s, um, deliberate pace of play has come under fire on plenty of occasions through the years and yesterday at East Lake was no different. Playing in the final pairing with Fleetwood, the two were even put on the clock on the back nine (in a 30-player field!!). Not that it did anything to make either play faster.
The absolutely insane waggle routine of Patrick Cantlay. This is not slow motion lol.
You saying something if your golfing buddy did this with every swing?
I’ve played with guys close to this. I’d look away and try to ignore when they are up to hit. pic.twitter.com/1ijcS05uYn
— Rick Golfs (@Top100Rick) August 24, 2025
To be clear, Fleetwood wasn’t blameless either, as the two fell two holes behind. In particular, Tommy took a lot of time making a club selection on the dangerous par-3 15th hole. Hey, we get it. Hitting to an island green nearly 200 metres away with $15 million on the line is stressful. But back to Cantlay, everyone noticed him taking a long time over the ball, including the many, many times he shuffled his feet before pulling the trigger.
Phil Mickelson took notice as well. Although, Phil found a way to poke fun at the situation in a lighthearted way. As someone who has received much attention for his legs throughout the years, he gave Cantlay’s calves some love.
He shuffled his right foot 26 times. 26 TIMES before he hit it. 26 x 36 other shots is 936 foot shuffles. That’s more calf raises than I’ll ever do. You also must be in peak physical condition to do this daily so let’s stop all the hate and appreciate that golfers are athletes https://t.co/s7QyyiwbQI
— Phil Mickelson (@PhilMickelson) August 25, 2025
Ohhh, that’s a deep burn.
But Mickelson makes a good point. That’s a lot of extra work so Cantlay’s step-counter must be off the charts. Anyway, assuming Cantlay is part of the American team at next month’s Ryder Cup, he’d better play well or the fans at Bethpage Black won’t be as nice about his shuffling act as Phil was.
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