15 April 2023 , 14:37
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Patrick Cantlay has issued a sarcastic response to his critics, after the former FedEx Cup champion was slammed for his pace of play around Augusta National at last week's Masters.
Cantlay competed in the penultimate group during the final round, ahead of leading pair Brooks Koepka and Jon Rahm. The speed of play around the Georgia course was slow throughout day four, and many were quick to point the finger at Cantlay.
This included 54-hole leader Koepka, who went on to shoot a frustrating three-over par 75 in the final round to lose to eventual champion Jon Rahm by four shots.
Speaking in his post-tournament press conference Koepka slammed Cantlay's group, commenting: "Yeah, the group in front of us was brutally slow. Jon [Rahm] went to the bathroom like seven times during the round, and we were still waiting.”
The man accused defended his speed heading into this week's event, responding: "We finished the first hole, and the group in front of us was on the second tee when we walked up to the second tee. We waited all day on pretty much every shot. We waited on 15 fairway, we waited on 18 fairway. I imagine it was slow for everyone.
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Patrick Cantlay was slammed for his slow play at The Masters (AP)"When you play a golf course like Augusta National where all the hole locations are on lots of slope and the greens are really fast, it’s just going to take longer and longer to hole out. I think that may have been what attributed to some of the slow play on Sunday."
At the halfway point in the RBC Heritage, Cantlay is once again in contention as he sits just four shots behind leader Jimmy Walker in a tie for fifth. The highlight of his opening two rounds came at the par three eighth on Friday, after the American landed an impressive hole-in-one.
This gave Cantlay the perfect chance to respond to his critics once more, after taking a cheeky dig on social media. Posting a clip of his round two ace on social media, the 31-year-old added the caption: "Playing faster! @RBC_Heritage @PGATOUR"
Fans were quick to laud the American for his quick-witted tweet, with @michaellore responding: "I don’t know what’s better, the ace or the caption." Whilst @JeffWhite34 added: "pure shot, pure tweet," before another - @Brock_A_Stewart - simply added: "Well played."