Late withdrawals are part of professional golf, but they rarely come without explanation, especially at a $20 million event.
The Cadillac Championship field has taken another hit just hours before the tournament begins at Trump National Doral. Patrick Cantlay will not tee it up this week. The PGA Tour confirmed the withdrawal on Tuesday, but did not provide any explanation.
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The announcement came from the PGA Tour’s Official Communication accounts on Twitter, which posted a brief field update. “Patrick Cantlay WD, Michael Thorbjornsen- IN.” No statement followed further. Cantlay himself is not posting anything publicly as well.
The announcement definitely comes as a surprise. Cantlay had been performing well coming into the week, with a T7 at Valspar, a T12 at the Masters, and a T8 at the RBC Heritage. Many considered him a genuine contender at the course that suited his game. The Blue Monster at Doral is a long, demanding layout where accurate iron play from distance matters most, and Cantlay is one of the better ball strikers on tour in that area.
Cantlay is injury-free, although his history leaves room for speculation. He previously missed significant time early in his career because of a chronic back issue and, more recently, sat out a PGA Tour event earlier this season with an undisclosed disc problem. Whether this withdrawal is precautionary or something more remains unclear.
Fans have also been quick to react to the PGA Tour’s post on social media. Their replies included questions about whether any other player, like Brooks, was next in line as an alternative, with one user simply asking, ‘No Brooks?’
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Michael Thorbjornsen is replacing Cantlay on the course, marking a significant opportunity in the young golfer’s career. At just 24, he is one of the most promising names on the tour since earning his card in 2024 and finishing at the top of the PGA Tour University rankings. This season, he finished tied for third at the WM Phoenix Open and finished strong at the Players Championship in March, where he reached the final pairing on Sunday. Unfortunately, a quadruple bogey on the fourth hole ended his challenge.
Michael is looking for his first PGA Tour win, but a last-minute entry into a signature event of this scale offers the exact platform that can shift a season—or even a career—if he takes advantage.
A crowded absentee list and a familiar reason
A growing number of stars are missing from this year’s Cadillac Championship. Rory McIlroy, Matt Fitzpatrick, Xander Schauffele, and Ludwig Aberg had already opted out before the week began, and now Patrick Cantlay’s withdrawal adds another top name to that list.
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The timing points to something the players have been vocal about all season: the congestion between the Masters and the PGA Championship. Players have been vocal about the grueling six-week stretch between the Masters and the PGA Championship, which stacks the RBC Heritage, Zurich Classic, Cadillac Championship, and Truist Championship back-to-back with little recovery time. This scheduling pressure is already having a clear impact, as evidenced by Rory McIlroy skipping two events after his Masters win, a move now mirrored by Xander Schauffele and Ludwig Aberg.
Cantlay, when asked about the RBC Heritage schedule, declined to comment. “I’m not sure where we’re going to end up on all that. I’m not going to comment on it at this time,” he stated. As a member of the PGA Tour Policy Board, his silence on the matter carries weight. His withdrawal this week, without an explanation, only adds to the speculation that the current schedule is taking a toll on two of the tour’s top names.
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