Patrick Cantlay

Cantlay was slow out of the gate with eight pars and a birdie before the turn. He applied some pressure with four birdies on the next six holes, all while Keegan Bradley was starting to leak with three straight bogeys. That shrunk the lead to just three shots be Cantlay stumbled home with two bogeys and a par. "I thought I struck the ball very solid all day. Played smart. Not the finish I wanted obviously, but my game is in a good spot and a lot of big tournaments left this summer." The UCLA alum carded four sub-69 rounds this week and led the field in strokes gained tee-to-green. Cantlay now has six straight top 15s at TPC River Highlands. He collected two victories last season but still searching for his first win of the 2022-23 campaign. 

Cantlay entered the week with five straight top 15s on his Travelers Championship resume. He kept with tradition by putting himself right back in the mix today. "Off to a good start. You know, I played really solid today. I don't think I got the most out of my round, but I got enough to put myself in good position, and off to a good start this week." Cantlay missed a trio of putts from inside of nine feet but also splashed home notable putts from 17 feet and 25 feet along the way. The result was a putting performance right around field average (0.21 SG:Putting). Cantlay has now been T27 or better after 17 of his last 18 rounds at TPC River Highlands. 

Cantlay arrived on a run of good form, posting top 20s in his last five stroke-play events with strong showings at the WGC-Match Play and Zurich Classic team event also thrown into that mix. Despite the good results, he made a big switch ahead of this week's event, adding Joe LaCava (Tiger Woods's old caddie) to his team. "He filled in a week for me a couple years ago. We've known each other a few years now and he's a pro and I've been doing it a little while now, so it's pretty easy transition." Cantlay was proud of his scrambling today but he also ranked 4th in strokes gained approach to keep himself in good position to score throughout the round. His previous appearances at Quail Hollow Club include a T33 at the 2017 PGA Championship and missed cut at the 2021 Wells Fargo Championship. Cantlay also went 3-1-0 at the 2022 Presidents Cup, which was hosted by Quail Hollow Club. 

Cantlay cut ties with Matt Minister after the Zurich Classic. With Tiger Woods shutting it down for surgery, LaCava was a free agent and Woods gave the blessing for him to join forces with Cantlay. "On the bag for @patrick_cantlay this week at the @WellsFargoGolf  and for the foreseeable future is Joe Lacava who got the blessing from friend and former boss @TigerWoods  to make the move to Cantlay. This is not a one off but a full time move for Lacava." Cantlay has played alongside LaCava in the past on a fill-in basis but this will likely be a permanent agreement if they mesh well over the next few months.