Patrick Cantlay edged Jon Rahm in a thrilling final round at East Lake Golf Club to claim the FedExCup title with a victory at the TOUR Championship.

Afterwards, the 29-year-old Cantlay took a few questions from the media, including a nickname to go along with his new superstar status.

1. Patty Ice Meets Matty Ice

Q. Among the other awards you got is a Falcons jersey with “Patty Ice” across it. I was talking to Matt Ryan last week, and he mentioned the two of you have met in passing, but I don’t know the circumstances of that. Could you tell me that, and I guess what that — he’s not going to sue you or trademark infringement, but can you tell me what that nickname means to you?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I met Matt at Shady Canyon, which is a place I practice in California, and our rounds started at similar times, and we had lunch after. He was playing with a few buddies of mine.

The nickname kind of came out of nowhere from my seat. Nothing I expected. I heard it last week and it started to gain traction in the playoff, and by the end, lots of people were yelling it out in the playoff.

This week, right from the first day, it felt like everyone was in my corner and I heard it from all over. And so to me, it just means cool under pressure and I think that suits my personality really well.

And so I like it. I think it’s a good nickname, and I appreciate everyone being in my corner. That means a lot.

2. Beating the World’s Best

Q. Does it carry more weight, the fact that you beat Rahm and Thomas at Zozo, Morikawa at Memorial, DeChambeau last week, and Rahm again this week; does that carry more weight with you?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I’m not sure. I mean, I beat everybody in the field those weeks. They just happened to be closest to me.

But they are obviously great players and it’s no surprise that some of the battles I’ve had have been with some of the best players in the world this year.

I think it’s really fun. It’s exactly why I play golf. I play golf so I can be in those moments against the best players in the world. It’s why I practice so hard. It’s why I’m in love with the game because it’s that great vehicle for competition.

It maybe makes it a little sweeter knowing that the guys I played against are the best players in the world.

3. Competing With Solheim Cup

Q. I know your mind wasn’t on this at all, but what do you think today was like for the ordinary golf fans, switching back and forth between the Solheim Cup and what you guys were doing at East Lake?

PATRICK CANTLAY: You know, I think it was — it had to be compelling stuff. I mean, it was close. It felt compelling to me being out there.

You know, Jon and I were very close all day. I don’t know if we ever got more than a couple shots apart, and I wasn’t able to really put the pedal down when maybe I could have. There were some putts that I didn’t make in the middle of the round where I maybe could have separated myself, and so it was a nail biter all the way to the end.

I saw I think the ladies played a little better today. They are close. They are maybe within a couple points. And so I’ll be rooting for them to hopefully pull it out.

4. Increased Starpower

Q. How much do you think your starpower has risen in the last month and have you noticed it yourself and does it mean anything to you?

PATRICK CANTLAY: I am not sure. I will tell you, I can tell after last week, after the playoff, that it felt like more people were on my side, and that feels great. And so maybe the nickname has helped me out with that a little bit because it lets me be who I am.

But I’ve always said that I’m going to let my golf clubs do the talking, and I’m going to put all my energy into playing the best golf I can and let everything else take care of itself. I did that this week. And so if I keep playing golf like this, I will be hard to ignore.

I think the guys that I play with; I think the guys on TOUR know who I am and I think they know the kind of golf that I play.

And so you know, the respect that I get from those guys and being able to compete against those guys, that’s why I do what I do, and so I’m not going to get too caught up in all the other stuff but I will tell you I’m very excited to have a lot of those guys on my side in the next couple weeks in the next event I play. I’m very much looking forward to The Ryder Cup.

Credits: Getty Images, PGA Tour Media, Fastscripts