Los Alamitos Golf Phenom Has 'Craziest Match' of His Career

Sometime after 5 p.m. Thursday, Los Alamitos native Patrick Cantlay was the man of the hour in the media room at the Erin Hills Golf Course in Erin, WI.

That honor was well deserved. He had played in what could be considered the match of the day in the round of 32 at the U.S. Amateur Championship. Cantlay  defeated Russell Henley of Macon, GA 1-up in a contest that lasted 21 holes.

Henley birdied No. 16 and was 2-up going into the final two holes. Cantlay chipped in a shot for a birdie on the 17th hole. He putted another one in on No.18 to send the match into sudden death.  And the fun was just getting started.

Both players eagled No. 1, which was the first hole of sudden death.  “We both hit shots in the fairway,” Cantlay said. “We both hit shots pin high right on the putting green. I was 35 feet, and he was about 25 feet.”

Cantlay rammed in his shot and thought that might be enough to wrap up the match. But Henley followed suit and they went to the second hole. “We didn’t talk too much during the match,” Cantlay said. “But we both said ‘good putt’ to each other.”

Both players got pars on the second hole, but Cantlay won with a par on the third hole.

“It was an unbelievable match, we both played really well,” Cantlay said. “It was very exhausting. I am pretty drained. I am sure everyone (who followed the match) is pretty tired.”

Cantlay will face Tom Lewis, who is from the village of Welwyn in Hertfordshire, England at 8 a.m. Friday in the round of 16.

Cantlay, a graduate of Servite High School, who is about to enter his freshman year at UCLA, said he and Henley are good friends and the two will compete for the United States in the Walker Cup. But on Thursday, the two played as if they were bitter rivals.

“I was trying to fight as hard as I could to win,” said Henley, who expects to graduate from the University of Georgia in May. “That’s what I play for. I wanted to fight and that’s what I did.”

After getting a birdie on the par-3, 236-yard sixth hole, Henley held a one-hole lead. Henley got a bogey on No. 10 to make the match all-square, but he regained the lead with birdie on 11. He held that lead until Cantlay rallied in the final two holes.

“I will remember this match for sure,” Cantlay said. “It was the craziest match I have ever been a part of and if you told me all that stuff would have happened the way it did, I wouldn’t have believed you.”