Patrick Cantlay leads the 2021 Tour Championship by one shot over Jon Rahm
The opening rounds of the 2021 Tour Championship, the final event of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, at East Lake Golf Club have concluded. The leader going into the weekend is Patrick Cantlay with a score of 17-under par and a single shot lead over Jon Rahm.
Due to the small field this week, there is no weekend cut.
RAHMBO VS PATTY ICE
There was much buzz about both Patrick Cantlay and Jon Rahm heading into the Tour Championship. Despite Cantlay starting at 10-under with a four shot lead over Rahm, Rahm was still favored by oddsmakers to win the FedEx Cup.
Cantlay opened with a relatively quiet round of 67 on Thursday, carding four birdies and a single bogey. He was paired with Tony Finau who, despite the momentum of winning The Northern Trust, shot a 72. Rahm, on the other hand, was paired with Bryson DeChambeau, and opened with a 65. This was good enough to bump Rahm up to second place.
Rahm and Cantlay were paired together for their Friday rounds. Cantlay improved, shooting a bogey-free 66 that consisted of four birdies. Rahm equaled his opening 65, with six birdies and a bogey, with momentum building for him.
The two put on a spectacle of golf between them. One hole of excitement for both was the par 4 13th hole. Cantlay drove his tee shot into the first cut of rough, but nearly holed out his approach shot, landing inches from the cup for a tap-in birdie. Rahm, in the fairway, landed his approach short of the green on the apron. It looked as though Cantlay was going to increase his lead over Rahm, but as we've seen from him for his entire career, Rahm's short game prevailed. Not to be outdone, Rahm sank his 35-foot off-green putt for birdie as well. Is this a sign of things to come?
There is some separation between Rahm/Cantlay and the rest of the field, with Rahm holding a five shot lead over Bryson DeChambeau in third. From the way it's shaping up, we might be having another one vs one duel similar to last week at the BMW Championship. The drama awaits.
ENGLISH ACES PAR 3 15TH HOLE
The 223 yard par 3 15th hole at East Lake is daunting to say the least. Players tee off just feet from the waters edge, over a lake to an island green with dramatic undulating slopes. Escaping with par is considered good by most and if you can manage a birdie, all the better.
But none of this was good enough for Harris English. During his opening round, the Georgia-native aced the hole with a 5-iron that he "tugged" slightly. This was English's first hole-in-one in a competitive round on tour for him and the first at the 15th during the Tour Championship.
The good fortune continued for English during his second round, where he landed his tee shot on the 15th to about 10 feet, then sank the birdie putt.
EAST LAKE INVITING TO ALL
A bit of rainfall on Wednesday softened up East Lake for the players. The low round was a 65 shot by Jon Rahm both rounds, Hideki Matsuyama during his second round and 2014 FedEx Cup Champion Billy Horshel during his opening round. Conditions firmed up for Friday's round, but no inclement weather is expected for the weekend rounds.
Incidentally, Matsuyama opened with the high round of 77, then followed it up with his low round of 65.
HOW ARE OUR PICKS DOING?
1) Jon Rahm: 2nd at 16-under
2) Patrick Cantlay: 1st at 17-under
3) Abraham Ancer: T16 at 5-under
I really hope we get to see a Rahm/Cantlay duel this weekend. It would be the perfect way to end off a dramatic PGA Tour season, in my opinion. Ancer was relatively quiet so far, but hopefully some strong weekend rounds will increase his position. Honorable mention to Louis Oosthuizen who sits at T10 8-under. What a story it would be if he managed to win this week, his first of the season at the last event of the season.
***
Things are heating up at the 2021 Tour Championship. Will Cantlay hold on to his lead? Will Rahm overtake him? Stay tuned to see who will win.
-Nick
Toronto Golf Reviews
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