Patrick Cantlay has lost his hat sponsorship with Goldman Sachs after four years and ahead of the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas.
What’s more, is that the 31-year-old Cantlay had been the first-ever golfer to have a deal in place with the investment banking firm.
The eight-time PGA Tour winner had initially signed a three-year deal with Godman Sachs in 2020 and agreed to a new one-year contract at the start of 2023.
‘We constantly evaluate the firm’s partnerships, and at this time , our logo will no longer appear on his hat,’ a Goldman Sachs spokesman told The New York Times’ DealBook.
Cantlay, who married his partner Nikki Guidish in Rome in October, found himself in controversy during the Ryder Cup due to his decision to refuse to wear a USA team cap.
Goldman Sachs ended its four-year partnership with Patrick Cantley after his Ryder Cup drama
The California native was accused of sparking a rift with other golfers on the U.S. team after demanding to know why players were not being paid to play in Italy, with the gesture to not wear a cap said to be him showing his frustration.
He later denied this, as when asked if he’d wear it for a team photo, he said: ‘The hat doesn’t fit. It didn’t fit at Whistling Straits [in 2021], and didn’t fit this week. Everyone knows that.
‘I was going to go no hat all week regardless, so I figured would I keep it consistent.’
American team-mate Xander Schauffele’s father, Stefan, though claimed the reason that Cantlay was not wearing a cap during the 2023 Ryder Cup was because he didn’t want to ruin his wedding photos with a golfer’s tan line across his face.
Cantlay, 31, refused to wear a cap while playing for Team U.S. at the Ryder Cup in Rome in Sept.
Cantlay’s decision though ultimately sparked taunts from the home crowd and eventually led to a furious row involving Rory McIlroy and Cantlay’s caddie Joe LaCava.
The caddie took off his cap and waved it in the air when Cantlay made a decisive putt on 18 in the crucial last four-ball match, which seemingly irked McIlroy.
LaCava was hitting back at the fans who had been taunting Cantlay all day, waving their hats in the air and chanting ‘where’s your cap?’
The Northern Irishman had reportedly asked LaCava, thought to be 68, ‘politely’ to move out the way, yet the caddie continued to ignore the request for some time.