With birdies on four of his last five holes, Taylor Pendrith moved to within 18 holes of his first PGA Tour victory. Richmond Hill, Ont., heads into Sunday tied with Tony Finau in the Rocket Mortgage Classic. If it’s anything like Saturday, the final round should be a feast for the birds.
“Obviously this course has had some low scores, so you’ve just got to keep making birdies if you want to stay in it,” Pendrith said.
No one in the field has made more birdies this week than the Canadian, who has 25 through three rounds, including eight on Saturday, as he and Finau battled back and forth all day.
After making a great putt on the par-4 13th when his putt veered left and behind a tree, Pendrith rallied, adding birdies on the next three holes – a par-5, par-3 and par-4. He made one more on the final hole, hitting a 10-footer to get to 21-under par.
“Thirteen, I just hit a bad ball and maybe got a little bit of a bad break right behind the tree,” Pendrith explained. “To get three in a row after that was a big momentum boost and obviously I’ve set myself up well for tomorrow with those three holes, and to get one on the last one was great.”
Finau, who won the 3M Championship last week, tried to keep pace with the Canadian, making seven birdies as the pair traded back and forth throughout the day.
“Obviously he made a lot of birdies and I finished the round with a lot of birdies, so it was fun,” Pendrith said. “We went back and forth. Tony bombed it off the tee and I hit it away too so it was fun, games like that I guess and we attacked him really well.”
For his day, Pendrith missed just three fairways and just two greens. He scored right through the bag, sitting fourth in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee, second in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and third in Strokes Gained: Putting.
Pendrith’s career has been one of resilience. He attended Kent State University where he roomed with Corey Connors for four years. Both seemed destined for big things after graduation, but while Conners followed a steady path to the PGA Tour and a high ranking in the Official World Golf Ranking, Pendrith battled injuries and spent time between the PGA Tour Canada and the Korn Ferry Tour. After two years on the Korn Ferry Tour in 2020 and 2021, when COVID halted all youth tour promotion, he finally graduated to the PGA Tour this season.
But bad luck continues to plague his career. After a good start, which included a maiden attempt at the Butterfield Bermuda Championship in October, when he held the 54-hole lead, Pendrith broke a rib during the Players Championship, which put him on the shelf for three-and-a-half months. Now, on his return, he has put himself in position to cement his talent with a win.
“I probably have more pressure just because I’ve never won before and Tony is a multiple winner and he won last week and played great,” Pendrith said. “I’ve got a good chance tomorrow to tie with him on Sunday, so there’s 18 holes of golf left and who knows what’s going to happen.” I feel like my game is in a good place, I’m driving it well, I’m hitting my wedges well, it’s good to see some shots. We will see. It’s going to be a fun experience and I’m looking forward to racing and seeing what happens.”
Although the two are four shots ahead of the others, Finau warned that with the golf club giving up the low rounds, it could be easy for the two front-runners to get plastered by a player back in the field.
“Taylor is playing great golf,” he said. “I can’t say I’ve pulled away from the guys, it’s the type of golf course where someone can shoot eight, nine, 10 under, but if we have a good round tomorrow it could be a two-man race and I’m looking forward to it.” the challenge again.”
A win would give Pendrith a package or prizes, including a check for $1.5 million. He would receive a two-year exemption from the tour, as well as exemptions from the Masters and the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He also became just the 16th Canadian to win on the PGA Tour and the first since Nick Taylor won at Pebble Beach in 2020.
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