Taylor Pendrith made 10 birdies on Thursday but was denied a final-hole eagle to shoot 59. Was he thinking of shooting the 15th sub-60 round on the PGA Tour at TPC Summerlin in Las Vegas in the first round of the Shriners Children’s Open?
“Yeah, obviously,” he said. “I tried to hit a great shot and just came off it a little bit. It was close to being really good, I think.”
Pendrith had blasted a 356-yard drive at the par-5 ninth, leaving just a 7-iron from 203 yards. But with the flag position in the front of the green, he caught it heavy and found the front greenside bunker. It was the only place he couldn’t miss.
“Me and my caddie didn’t really talk about it, but I think we both knew I was going to try and hole the bunker shot,” he said. “Of course, I was going to try to hole bunker shot. It was a tricky one, but, yeah, I gave it my best.”
The Canadian blasted 12 feet past the hole, missed the birdie putt and settled for 10-under 61, tying his career low on Tour and an early three-stroke lead over seven golfers.
Pendrith, who represented the International Team at the Presidents Cup last month and won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May, had it going on like the gambler rolling his number on the craps tables. With barely a breeze and sunny skies in the desert, Pendrith took advantage of prime scoring conditions. After a par on his first hole, No. 10, Pendrith made birdie on five of the next six holes on his first nine and kept sticking approach shots inside 10 feet. At the 453-yard par-4, No. 4, he wedged inside a foot for the tap-in birdie. Pendrith was long and accurate and his putter cooperated too – a beautiful combination. He ranked first in driving distance (329 yards), fourth in Strokes Gained: Approach the Green and first in SG: Putting.
Expectations this week were tempered for Pendrith, who hadn’t competed in a stroke-play tournament since the Tour Championship in late August. In fact, he said he’d only touched a club three times since the Presidents Cup late last month and was unable to play at home in South Florida as Hurricane Milton kept him off the course.
“I thought I would be a little bit more rusty than that,” said Pendrith, who hasn’t missed a cut since the PGA Championship in May. “You know, obviously thrilled and yeah, just got to keep getting back into the rhythm of things and the next few days. Yeah, feel good.”
