Apparently no one at the PGATOUR knew Patrick Cantlay had a twin that was lost at birth. After extensive digging we are happy to announce, WE FOUND HIM!
Just to clarify, his twin was birthed from a different mother. They were also born in different cities. Not to mention they were also born 24 years apart, so truthfully there is no ACTUAL biological relation between the two. However, after much deliberation, we have discovered that Patrick Cantlay does in fact have a twin brother from a different professional sport. A kindred spirit if you will. A person that if you took away their names, ages, appearances and all other physical attributes, they carry the exact same swagger when it comes to their professional careers.
The point being, who doesn’t love a good mashup? If you don’t know much about golf or the personalities within the game, this is a way to help you understand the player within the context of a famous athlete you ALREADY KNOW. Buckle up, cause you never saw this one coming..
Frank Thomas-
“The Big Hurt” has slowly but surely fallen into the category of mild-mannered athletes. However, that does not mean his talent matched his relatively quiet personality as a player. The Hall of Famer is rarely talked about amongst those who he played against in his 18-year MLB career. Following his exceptional career as an amateur, where he played both baseball and football at Auburn University, he was drafted as the seventh overall pick in the 1989 MLB draft. A storied college career riddled with accolades would soon be followed by a slow start to his professional career. The Big Hurt showed his resiliency and shined through as he settled into his professional career. A monster figure in stature standing in the batter’s box, he left many opposing pitchers in fear without ever actually swinging the bat. His quiet demeanor is what led him to success. A pure hitter in all aspects of the game, he was the first player since Ted Williams with a .300 average, 32 home runs, 109 RBI’s and 138 walks in 1991. Often plagued by professional strikes and fellow competitors using unfair substances during baseball’s “steroid era,” Thomas persevered and etched his name in the MLB record books. Thomas won the AL MVP twice in 93’ and 94’, the Silver Slugger Award four times in 91’,93’,94’ and 2000, as well as the AL Batting Champion in 1997 to go along with 5 All-Star Game appearances.
“…Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
Patrick Cantlay-
Huh? The Big Hurt & Patrick Cantlay, the rarely spoken about number 9 player in the world? Go ahead and google his name, you will be shocked at how little is written about the 9th best golfer in the world, out of 7.5 billion people. Similar to Thomas, Cantlay’s amateur career trophy case is decorated on the same level of the greatest golfers to ever play. His freshman year at UCLA he won four(!) tournaments and went on to win the Haskins Award for most outstanding golfer. He was also named the Jack Nicklaus National Player of the Year. As the top ranked amateur he qualified for the 2011 U.S. Open and made the cut, and with rounds of 70 and 72 on the weekend, ensured his spot as the low amateur. He went on to hold the #1 spot in the World Amateur Golf Ranking for 55 weeks; a record that stood for 5 years until Jon Rahm eclipsed it in 2016.
But like Thomas, his professional career was met with adversity. In June of 2012, while warming up for the second round the Colonial, Cantlay was quoted saying, “it felt like somebody stuck a knife in my back.” He was diagnosed with a stress fracture in his L5 vertebrae just weeks later. He was forced to shut it down. With rehab continually being derailed and inevitably delaying his return to golf, Cantlay found himself facing something that was bigger than golf could ever be. Following his attempt to return to competitive golf in January of 2016, he felt a sharp pain down this leg. He was he immediately informed by doctors that he needed to sit out an additional 10 months. What seemed to be the hardest thing he had ever dealt with, was met with something even more tragic. On February 13, 2016, Patrick’s long-time friend and caddie, Chris Roth, was struck by a car in a hit- and- run and passed away. Like “The Big Hurt”, it was time for Cantlay to take his frustrations of setbacks and unfair circumstances and use them as motivation. Cantlay did just that and returned to the PGA Tour in 2017.
Since then, Cantlay has proven that he plays for more than just himself. Through 85 events in his career, he has made 70 cuts, finished with 46 top 25’s, 22 tops 10’s, 8 top 5’s and 3 wins coming at the Shiners in 2017, the Memorial in 2019 and ZOZO Championship in 2020.
But here is why he and Frank Thomas should sit down and have a beer.
A pure hitter in all aspects, and a pure ball striker in all aspects.
Thomas. A model for consistency in all aspects of the game, Thomas finished his career ranked 8th in homeruns, 9th in RBIs, 6th in walks, 8th in slugging % and 9th in on-base %.
Homeruns are bolstered putting points on the board, and in golf that can be equated to simply putting the ball in the cup. Cantlay finished the 2019 season 4th in birdie average. RBI’s are equivalent to getting it done night in and night out, over the course of an entire season. Cantlay finished 2nd in Scoring Average; meaning that no matter what round it was, he was getting in done day in and day out. Walks in baseball mean being productive without having to be glamorous about it. Cantlay finished 8th in putts per round, so even on his bad days he eliminated big mistakes with the flat stick. Slugging percentage can be dumbed down to simply swinging the stick with bad intentions. Swinging to make something happen. Cantlay finished 5th in going for the green on par 5’s. He had bad intentions to get there in two. On-base percentage is about efficiency. How can you be productive every single time you go out to compete? Cantlay made 18 out of 21 cuts in the 2019 season and secured top 25 finishes in 17 of those cuts made. That is getting the job done, every single week. Patrick limited his schedule during this 2020 season, but don’t be surprised if he puts some BIG HURTING on the leaderboards during the 2021 super-season.
“Speak softly and carry a big stick.”
(And let me know if you two decide to have that beer, I wouldn’t mind being a fly on the wall.)
