“If the players are not entertaining and not engaging — if they’re not talking and dissecting stuff — we’re not going to be successful.” This is how Billy Horschel sees TGL, and fairly so, the league was designed to mix entertainment with golf, so it’s up to the players to make it fun for the viewers. After all, fans have paid a pretty hefty price to watch, so you can’t blame them for expecting a high level of excitement.

Which brings us to Patrick Cantlay, who’s currently catching some heat — and not for his usual slow pace of play. Nope, this time around, it’s about something else. Fans have been piling on with comments like this:

Yes, you guessed it right, the golfer is getting booed for being ‘boring’. His lethargic style is something we’re used to, but this time, it’s his lack of energy on the course that is the latest target of online buzz. On X, one fan chimed in with, “Patrick Cantlay is such a buzz kill. Won’t let JT throw the hammer over the last putt in TGL.” Well, now that was something fans eagerly waited for, and when the hammer didn’t move, it left many wondering what went wrong.

Even after their win over the New York Golf Club, fans still had questions. In the post-interview round, a moderator asked about the hammer situation, and Billy Horschel came to Cantlay’s defense, saying, “I think the hammer is a cool thing and we’ve seen it the last couple weeks, but if you don’t use it wisely, it can backfire. With Pat, we’re all very much strategic and trying to understand, but Patrick takes it to another level, and he’s like, guys, we don’t use it in these certain ranges and everything, and we let him make the decision of when we needed to throw it, and once we got up early, he said, hey, guys, we’re going to hang on to this. It was as simple as that.” So, as turns out, it was all part of a strategic plan. The team really trusts Captain Cantlay’s judgment on these decisions.

But, of course, some fans just weren’t having it.

“Come on, Atlanta Drive can’t be the swaggiest team in TGL if Patrick Cantlay is on it,” one user wrote. And it didn’t stop there. Another user dropped a more brutal take, saying, “Cantlay might be the most boring person on the planet. Least likable American in golf. Rather have Reed out there.”

But amid all the bashing, there were still a few in Cantlay’s favor. One fan noted “Cantlay playing quick af. So we know he can do it…” And it seems like that credit goes to the shot clock, which one user pointed out, “Yep, they all can. All it takes is someone actually enforcing a rule :)”

It’s hard to argue with that. The shot clock starts at 40 seconds, and once it hits 15 seconds, a heartbeat sound echoes through the arena, adding some pressure and fun for both players and fans. So yes, Cantlay was moving faster, but that was probably new for him. It’s just normal when you’ve got the shot clock in play.

Notably, Cantlay wasn’t the only bit of controversy the team faced. Billy Horschel’s dramatic entry wasn’t something that fans approved of either.

Fans criticized Billy Horschel’s fun entry

When Billy Horschel made his grand entrance for his TGL debut, fans weren’t exactly filled with excitement. He was clearly amped up, breaking out a “dirty bird” dance right after pulling out a shiny neck chain. Sounds fun, right?

Well, not exactly. His flashy move didn’t sit well with the crowd, with some fans calling it “cringe” and even dubbed it as ruining the game’s reputation by dragging in the other side of golf, a.k.a. LIV into the conversation. “Embarrassing golf! Even worse than LIV!”

It’s clear that there’s a real divide among the fans when it comes to TGL. While Horschel’s entry was all about having fun, others felt it wasn’t serious enough for the event. Meanwhile, on the other side of things, Cantlay was getting slammed for being too serious — with fans labeling him “boring.” Well, make up your mind, people!