Patrick Cantlay was always recognized for his Goldman Sachs hat on the green, but as per recent reports, the investment banking firm has decided not to renew its sponsorship deal with the golfer. Both parties entered into a deal in 2020 for three years, and in 2023 it was supposed to renew the deal for 2024.
As Goldman Sachs plunged into sports, Cantlay worked as the brand ambassador of Marcus, the online banking service. The golfer even wore Marcus-tagged hats to his tournaments. But given that Goldman Sachs has sold off its Marcus shares, it has now decided to refocus on its investment segment more.
Reflecting on the firm’s policies, a spokesperson for the investment company, Tony Fratto, has shared the same. “We constantly evaluate the firm’s partnerships, and at this time, our logo will no longer appear on his hat.” Thus, given the current cessation of the deal, Cantlay is left with no hat sponsors presently.
While the scenario has come to light, some are speculating that the incident is loosely influenced by the Ryder Cup ‘Hat-Gate’ controversy.
Patrick Cantlay and His Infamous Ryder Cup Hat Gate Antic at Marco Simone
This year’s Ryder Cup was full of drama with news of a fractured team spirit within the US Ryder Cup team hitting the headlines. The instance insinuated that Cantlay was in fact unhappy about not being paid to play in the Ryder Cup and, in protest, refused to wear his Goldman Sachs-sponsored hat during the event. Cantlay later went on to deny such accusations, and Team Captain Zach Johnson refuted claims of a conflict within the team regarding the same.
The eight-time PGA Tour winner has been in the news in the past year for a number of reasons, particularly because of his off-course antics. He was also accused of slowplay at the Masters by Brooks Koepka. Even his teammate, Viktor Hovland, seemed frustrated by it. Matt Fitzpatrick also made similar complaints when he played with Cantlay at the RBC Heritage. And this didn’t end here, as fans at Harbour Town actually went on to time Cantlay to highlight the issue.
This is getting out of control @patrick_cantlay ⏰ pic.twitter.com/xUrRehTRGd
— Beer At The Turn 🏌🏼♂️⛳️ (@tap_it_in_golf) April 17, 2023
Whether or not the termination of the contract is influenced by the Hat Gate incident is not confirmed, but the timing of it happening two months after the tournament can’t be just a coincidence.
