Patrick Cantlay Earns Spot on USA Ryder Cup Team

Steve Stricker picked his team Wednesday, with the former UCLA men's golfer headlining America's group of rookies.

Fresh off his highest high on the PGA Tour, Patrick Cantlay is taking things global.

The former UCLA men's golfer won the TOUR Championship and BMW Championship the past two weekends, securing him the FedEx Cup and corresponding $15 million purse for the first time in his career. The title required a six-hole playoff victory over Bryson DeChambeau at Caves Valley followed by an 18th-hole birdie at East Lake to stave off a comeback from world No. 1 Jon Rahm, but Cantlay came through when it mattered most.

As a result of his torrid finish to the summer, Cantlay earned an automatic qualification on the United States' team for the upcoming Ryder Cup against Europe. Team USA captain Steve Stricker finalized the 12-man roster Wednesday at the Whistling Straits Golf Club in Haven, Wisconsin, selecting the final six golfers to surround Cantlay with at the tournament later in September.

Stricker picked Tony Finau, Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth, Harris English, Daniel Berger and Scottie Scheffler to be the final six representatives for the Americans. Cantlay, DeChambeau, Collin Morikawa, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka and Justin Thomas were the six men who had locked in their spots on the team via the two-year points system.

Notably excluded from the roster were Webb Simpson, Kevin Na, Patrick Reed and Will Zalatoris.

Cantlay has never appeared in a Ryder Cup before, making him one of six rookies on Team USA. He is also one of two Pac-12 alumni on the team, alongside the California graduate Morikawa.

The 43rd Ryder Cup, which was delayed from 2020 to 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, will tee off Sept. 24 at Whistling Straits. The course plays long, which seems to mesh well on paper with Cantlay's No. 14 tour ranking in gaining strokes off the tee.

When Cantlay secured his spot on Team USA, the official Ryder Cup website had this to say about how the former Bruin will fit on the team:

A calm demeanor. A steady, unflappable game. Rookie nerves that could work to his advantage.

All of these traits were on display late Sunday at the BMW Championship where Cantlay could’ve gone away several times, but never did. There’s a reason why his nickname is Patty Ice.

If you dig into statistics on many of the top players in the world, there is usually a clear weakness in one area of their game. Nothing bad, but something that clearly is not as good as the other areas. That is not the case with Cantlay. He’s great at everything.

"Patty Ice" has proven his worth on the Tour, and now he has a chance to do so in the biggest team golf event of the year.

Team USA and Team Europe will compete from Sept. 24-26, as the Americans look to avenge their 17.5-10.5 defeat in 2018.

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