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Patrick Cantlay, TOUR Championship
Patrick Cantlay after winning the TOUR Championship (photo by Adam Hagy, USA Today Sports)
Photo by: Adam Hagy-USA TODAY Sports

Cantlay Honored as 2021 PGA Tour Player of the Year

September 14, 2021 | Men's Golf

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla.  Former UCLA standout golfer Patrick Cantlay has been named the 2021 PGA Tour Player of the Year, as voted by the Tour's membership for the 2020-21 season and announced on Tuesday.
 
Cantlay captured four victories on the PGA Tour this season, including back-to-back wins in the FedExCup Playoffs. He most recently won the TOUR Championship on Sunday, Sept. 5, to secure the FedExCup Championship. He also won the BMW Championship in Maryland in August, the Memorial Tournament in June and the Zozo Championship in Oct. 2020.
 
Cantlay, with four PGA Tour wins this season, was the only player with more than two during the 2020-21 campaign. The last player with four or more victories in one season on the PGA Tour was Justin Thomas in 2016-17.
 
The victory at the BMW Championship last month helped Cantlay earn the sixth and final automatic spot at the upcoming Ryder Cup in Kohler, Wis.
 
The PGA Tour Player of the Year award, also known as the Jack Nicklaus Trophy, has been administered by the PGA Tour and was introduced in 1990. Cantlay has become the first golfer from UCLA to have captured this award. He has six career PGA Tour victories and he concluded the 2021 season with seven top-10 finishes.
 
Cantlay, from nearby Los Alamitos, Calif., excelled during his two-year career at UCLA. He competed for the Bruins from 2010-12, winning the Haskins Award in 2011 as the most outstanding college golfer. During the 2011-12 season, Cantlay won the McCormack Medal as the world's No. 1-ranked amateur player.
 
Cantlay joined the PGA Tour as a member for the first time in the 2013-14 season, but was limited to six starts over the next three seasons due to a back injury. He qualified for the TOUR Championship in 2016-17, making just 13 starts, and finished 29th in the FedExCup standings.