PGA Tour News: Amid His Excruciating Trophy Drought, Patrick Cantlay Exits $8M Event in Abrupt Move

Patrick Cantlay will have to wait longer. Cantlay could have potentially been eyeing the upcoming John Deere Classic as the perfect event to make a resurgence, but a recent announcement seems to note otherwise. Cantlay has officially withdrawn from this weekend’s play at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois.

Formerly the event’s headliner, Cantlay has now been replaced by Russell Knox. While his reason for stepping away from the $8 million event remains hazy, one thing is clear: redemption is a long way from Cantlay’s reach. After all, his long-lasting win drought has come a long way, with the 32-year-old last winning long back at the 2022 BMW Championship.

Cantlay’s exit can potentially be linked to his quickly slipping away from major dreams. Having secured no wins at the holy grail four major tournaments in his career so far, Cantlay did manage to come close to a win this season when he carded a 4-under-par score this season at the U.S. Open and finished at T3. His performance at the Masters etched him a finish at T22 with a score of 4-over-par, whereas Valhalla saw him card a 5-under-par score but a T53 finish. Despite coming close, his dreams remained unfulfilled, as did his thirst to taste the sweet victory, major or otherwise.

It seems that with the Scottish Open and the Open Championship approaching swiftly, Cantlay has his mind on fulfilling this dream of his. Therefore, to retain his energy for the forthcoming challenges and keep his A-game going strong, it’s likely that the PGA Tour pro made the tough choice to step back from Illinois. But is Cantlay the only player to withdraw so far?

Has anyone else withdrawn from the John Deere Classic field except Cantlay?

Cantlay is not the only player to withdraw past the deadline. Out of the 156-player field, Monday morning saw Cam Davis and Taylor Montgomery withdraw from the field. Their place was then filled by Cody Gribble and Zecheng Dou, respectively.

While the real reason remains unclear for Davis, who has just won the Rocket Mortgage Classic for the second time, Montgomery’s reason might be his shoulder injury. While the 29-year-old could manage to swing his clubs to glory initially at the Rocket Mortgage Classic, it was not without struggle.

Describing his struggle, Montgomery revealed, “I didn’t know like how well like the shoulders would hold up and stuff. Swinging driver is the main issue. Like when I was swinging a driver, my right shoulder’s the worst one, but it’s the left one that hurts bad when I swing.”

Despite facing problems with his swing game, this University of Nevada graduate did manage to finish at a respectable T44 with a score of 8 under par (his best performance in his last 5 starts). Addressing his performance, he added, “I wasn’t expecting to play as solid as I did. I had no idea what I was getting into, … I haven’t worked hard at all on my game because I haven’t been able to. Like how is that possible? Like it’s so weird.”

Well, it seems after testing his limits in Detroit, Montgomery has also finally decided to properly rehab his injured shoulder before the onset of the big leagues in the days to come, a decision that has possibly influenced his absence from Illinois.

What do you think about Patrick Cantlay’s absence from the John Deere Classic? Let us know in the comments below.