Taylor Pendrith plays a shot from a bunker on the first hole during the third round of THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Raymond Carlin III-USA TODAY Sports
A lot of players, especially the Canadians, are focused on the upcoming Presidents Cup later this summer. For Taylor Pendrith, it has been on his mind plenty, but with a poor start to the season, he knew he needed to make a move if he wanted to be on the team at Royal Montreal.
Thanks to back-to-back eagles Saturday at TPC Craig Ranch, Pendrith is doing a lot to make his case to captain Mike Weir that he deserves to be on the team.
Pendrith is the solo leader heading into Sunday’s final round. He signed for an 8-under 63 on Saturday that includes consecutive eagles on Nos. 5-6, the latter coming on a 41-yard chip in from short left of the green, and he leads by one over Jake Knapp at 19 under.
“The second one, it was pretty basic pitch shot,” Pendrith said. “I was trying to fly it further than I did, but low, take two hops, and kind of skip up the hill. Obviously a bonus to make that, but it was a really nice shot. Would’ve been a foot probably if to missed. Yeah, that was a lovely shot.”
Pendrith said one of the big changes in his game this week is improved driving. He recently changed shafts in his big stick, is swinging it with more confidence and for the week, he is ninth in Strokes Gained: Off the Tee.
“Just feel comfortable with everything, and now that the driver is clicking, it’s a nice feeling,” he said.
Pendrith remains searching for his first PGA Tour victory, looking to join fellow Canadians Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin and Adam Svensson in the winner’s circle. Each of those five is in contention for the Presidents Cup team, but Pendrith can add a huge bullet point to his resume is he closes Sunday.
