Patrick Cantlay sought advice from the great Jack Nicklaus on how to take his game to the next level, and obviously he listened to what the Golden Bear had to say.
The 27-year-old Cantlay, from Los Alamitos and UCLA, blistered Muirfield Village Golf Club http://www.mvgc.org with a bogey-free 8-under-par 64 and claimed a two-stroke victory over Adam Scott of Australia in the Memorial Tournament.
The he accepted a handshake and the trophy from tournament host Nicklaus.
“You did it,” Nicklaus told him behind the 18th hole, where Cantlay cemented his victory with an eight-foot par putt to get up-and-down from a greenside bunker.
Responded Cantlay: “I did it. Thanks for everything. It means a lot. Thanks, Jack.”
Cantlay started the final round four strokes behind leader Martin Kaymer of Germany, but birdied five holes on the front nine, including the last three, while Kaymer had three early birdies of his own.
However, as the German faltered with three bogeys on the back nine, Cantlay surged to victory with three more birdies to finish at 19-under 269.
“It means a lot to win on this golf course, in front of Jack and to make that putt on the last hole,” said Cantlay, whose only other PGA Tour victory came in the 2017 Shriners Hospitals for Children Open. “It’s been almost a year-and-a-half since I won, and it feels great.
“(Nicklaus) just said to relax and have fun, try to smile, enjoy the moment and have a good time. I felt like I was able to do that today. His words were in my head coming down the stretch.
“It’s nice to validate the confidence that I can play with the best golfers in the world.”
Scott, trying to win for the first time since the 2016 WGC-Cadillac Championship, closed with a 68, while Kaymer could manage only a 72 and finished four shots behind in solo third.
Kevin Streelman totaled 66 and was six down in fourth, followed one more back by Marc Leishman in fifth after a 69, and 2014 Memorial champion Hideki Matsuyama was eight behind in sixth following a 72.
Jason Dufner, who won the 2017 Memorial, shot 69 and was nine back in a tie for seventh with Jordan Spieth, who had a 73, while fifth-ranked Tiger Woods, a five-time Memorial winner, posted a 67 to wind up 10 behind in a tie for ninth with Billy Horschel, who had 69, Emiliano Grillo of Argentina, who wound up at 71, and Bud Cauley, who came in at 72.
Third-ranked Justin Rose of England shot 71 and finished 13th, ninth-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State totaled 70 to wind up in a tie for 14th that included 10th-ranked Rickie Fowler of Murrieta, who had a 72, while eighth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis, the defending champion, tied for 22nd following a 66.
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