Spent his formative years playing golf at Virginia Country Club in Long Beach, California under the tutelage of Jamie Mulligan, a longtime PGA of America member

In 2019, established the Patrick Cantlay Foundation, which partners with initiatives that support the game of junior golf, as well as programs assisting and advocating on behalf of first responders.

Honored by the Golf Writers Association of America (GWAA) as the recipient of the 2020 Ben Hogan Award. (Due to COVID, the annual awards ceremony was postponed until 2022.) The Ben Hogan Award, first awarded to Babe Zaharias in 1954, is given to a player who has overcome a physical handicap or serious injury to remain active in golf. Past recipients include Ken Venturi (1966), Lee Trevino (1980), Calvin Peete (1983), Paul Azinger (1995), and Tiger Woods (2019).

Inducted into the UCLA Athletic Hall of Fame in 2022. Cantlay's induction class included Cy Young Award-winning pitcher Gerrit Cole, former NFL running back DeShaun Foster (who later returned to UCLA as head coach of the football program), and 2008 Olympic gold medalist Dawn Harper-Nelson (100-meter hurdles).

Film enthusiast. Quentin Tarantino is among his favorite directors, and he enjoys the Lord of the Rings books and movies.

Attended UCLA even though both his parents are USC grads.

Has three younger siblings, all of whom play golf competitively.