Patrick Cantlay won another thrilling Sunday in the BMW Championship, hitting a big bounce on the 17th hole that set up a short birdie and took him to a two-under 69 and a one-shot victory over Scott Stallings.
Cantlay became the first player to win the BMW Championship in a row since he started the FedEx Cup in 2007. This was on a different course, and he didn’t have to get past six playoff holes. He also doesn’t have the FedEx Cup advantage for next week’s final at East Lake.
All that mattered was winning at the Wilmington Country Club, but he needed a little help.
He was tied for the lead on the 420-yard 17th hole when he decided to hit the driver and feared he would get hung up in a series of bunkers on the right side. But the ball landed before the last low, took a big leap across the sand, and fell through the first cut into the fairway just 64 yards from the hole.
Cantlay hit a spinner that bounced to a stop 5 feet from the flag, holed the birdie putt, and then found the green at No. 18 from a fairway bunker.
A year ago, he made decisive putt after decisive putt about an hour down the road at Caves Valley and beat Bryson DeChambeau. That gave him the top seed in the Tour Championship, which comes with a two-shot margin before the tournament begins, and Cantlay won the FedEx Cup and its $18 million prize with a one-shot win over Jon Rahm.
This time, he goes into the FedEx Cup finale as the No. 2 seed, meaning he will start next week with two shots behind Masters champion Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler put on a late charge with three birdies in four holes and was one shot behind. But he missed a 4-foot par putt on the final hole for a 70.