Cantlay wins by 4 in Colombia
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Patrick Cantlay shot 5-under 66 on Sunday and cruised to a 4-stroke win at the Colombia Championship.
Cantlay and Jim Renner were tied entering the final round, but the 20-year-old carded four birdies and an eagle to finish at 18-under 266 and secure his first Web.com Tour victory.
"It feels really good to win. I felt in control all day," said Cantlay. "This sets the year off on the right foot. Even though I'm one of the youngest guys out here I feel really comfortable out here."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Renner shot 1-under 70 at the Country Club of Bogota's Fundadores Course and ended alone in second place at 14-under. Shane Bertsch (70) placed third at 12-under, while Jordan Spieth (67) and Alexandre Rocha (68) tied for fourth at minus-11.
Bhavik Patel, who shared the lead after the second round, carded a 71 and finished sixth at 10-under. Manuel Villegas (68), Scott Brown (68), Dusty Fielding (69) and Steve Wheatcroft (71) ended knotted in seventh place at minus-9.
First-round leader Danny Lee shot in the 70s for the third straight day to close at 1-under. The 22-year-old, who tied for 13th at the PGA Tour's Sony Open in Hawaii in January, is hoping to regain full time status on that circuit after an underwhelming rookie campaign in 2012.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kevin Foley, the winner of last week's season-opening Panama Claro Championship, carded a 76 on Sunday and finished 1-over.
For Cantlay, the victory is just the next step in an already promising young career.
After winning the 2011 Fred Haskins Award at UCLA as the nation's top collegiate player, Cantlay turned pro last year and recorded a playoff loss to current PGA Tour rookie Russell Henley at the Chiquita Classic and a tie for fifth at the Winn-Dixie Jacksonville Open in just four Web.com starts.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}On Sunday, Cantlay jumped in front with a birdie on the first, but he promptly found himself down by two strokes courtesy of his bogey on the fifth and back- to-back birdies by Renner at Nos. 3 and 4.
But Cantlay fought back to grab the advantage at the turn, using consecutive birdies beginning at the eighth, and a bogey by Renner at No. 7, to go up by a single stroke.
And while Renner birdied the 10th, Cantlay did one better with an eagle, padding a lead which continued to grow down the stretch.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Renner parred the 11th, but he dropped a shot on No. 12, and Cantlay all but sealed the win with a birdie on the par-4 14th. A closing run of four straight pars made it official.
"Winning is why we compete. That's why we play," continued Cantlay. "I just love competing. It doesn't feel too soon, it's been a while since I won."
NOTES: Cantlay made five cuts as an amateur on the PGA Tour in 2011. He tied for 21st at the U.S. Open and tied for 24th at the Travelers Championship that year ... In 2012, Cantlay finished No. 79 on the Web.com Tour ... Defending champion Skip Kendall missed Friday's cut at 6-over. The veteran was looking to become the first player in Web.com Tour history to successfully defend his title ...Brenden Pappas, the 2011 champion of this event, withdrew before the start of the second round due to an illness ... The Web.com Tour concludes its three-week stay in South America next week with the Chile Classic, where Paul Haley II captured the 2012 title.