Why Doesn't Patrick Cantlay Have Any Sponsors

THERE is always much chatter at the Tournament of Champions and this year’s event proved to be no exception.

Cameron Smith won the event last year but was not allowed to defend his title after joining LIV Golf - a decision that led to him being banned by the PGA Tour. 

Patrick Cantlay turned up in Hawaii with no manufacturers’ name on his golf bag, and eventual winner Jon Rahm had plenty to say about both his own form and his thoughts on LIV Golf. 

Since turning pro, Cantlay has had a contract with Titleist but that has now been ended. And so has his contract with Hugo Boss. It may well be a coincidence that these two deals have ended at the same time, but rumours persist that Cantlay is going to defect to LIV Golf - a move that would be a huge blow to the PGA Tour.

Commenting on the rumours, Cantlay said: "I think it's because I haven't been too vocal one way or the other. So I think that's probably where it is. Guys, for the most part, seem like they're pretty polarized on this issue, and I view it as it's been a competition for top talent, like any other business.

"But I have no plans to do that as of now, which has been my stance for, you know, basically since the whole time.”

It doesn’t sound wholly convincing, does it?

Meanwhile, Rahm is already turning his thoughts to the Ryder Cup, and said: “It would not be smart to have one team allowing LIV players and one not. There's some people that are going to have to make some tough choices, right? A little bit of that is out of my reach. I hope the PGA of America and European Tour make a decision together.

"Even if they decide not to on that side, I think it's going to give an opportunity for a lot of great young players to show up and have the chance in Europe. It's just going to be an opportunity for all of them."

Rahm also revealed that he “battled” his swing for most of last season. This may come as surprise from a man who won the Mexican Open and the DP World Tour Championship but it is a measure of how far he has come, and what he expects of himself after winning the US Open in 2021. Last year his best finish in a major was 12th at the US Open.

Rahm said: “In this sport, if you are not winning as much as you would like, you would take it as a bad year. For people that may not believe it, I battled my swing most of the year. I wasn’t as comfortable as I was the year prior and that showed. It just didn’t feel as smooth as I would have liked. Maybe once the PGA Tour season was over I took some time off and reset and that’s why I played well in the fall.”