Taylor Pendrith looked at his young son, Hayes, and with a big smile said, “Hey buddy!” His wife, Meg – formerly a front-line nurse in Hamilton in the throughs of the COVID-19 pandemic – was there, tears in her eyes.
His longtime coach, Derek Ingram, couldn’t be more fired up while watching at home. Ditto Corey Conners. Jill Pendrith, Taylor’s mother, said she and Taylor’s father, Darrell, were on the edge of their seats all day. Mackenzie Hughes trotted out a handful of cold beers and poured one on Pendrith’s back.
This is the kind of thing Canada has on the PGA Tour these days – a generation unlike any this country has ever seen.
Add Pendrith’s name to the list alongside his friends. He did it, too.
Pendrith is a PGA Tour winner.
The long-hitting Canadian has been plagued by the injury bug over the last half decade – shoulder, wrist, palm (of all things), a positive COVID-19 test, rib, and shoulder again – but through it all he kept working and kept going.
He captured the CJ Cup Bryon Nelson in dramatic fashion Sunday night despite, perhaps, a bit of an ominous Saturday.
“I was a little disappointed that the Toronto Maple Leafs lost last night, so that was mostly on my mind,” the native of Richmond Hill, Ont. said with a laugh. “(Winning on the PGA Tour) has been something that I’ve been working towards my whole career and to finally get it done feels unbelievable.”
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Pendrith – who admitted his maiden PGA Tour title took some of the sting out of the Leafs’ Game 7 loss to the Boston Bruins– calmly rolled in a three-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to top Ben Kohles by one at TPC Craig Ranch in Texas. Kohles hit a laser to within two feet on the par-4 16th for birdie and backed it up with another birdie on the penultimate hole of the championship to take the lead. He stumbled for the first time all day on the par-5 18th, however, missing his first fairway of the round, chunking a chip, and then missing a five-foot par attempt to finish at 22 under.
Television cameras showed Meg, mouth-wide-open. She couldn’t believe Kohles – who had been rock steady all day – left the door open for Pendrith to win. The Canadian stepped up and knocked in his birdie try to finish at 23 under.
“I feel for Ben. He played really good today, especially down the stretch,” Pendrith said. “I’ve been on that other side of it and it sucks but it’s golf and it’s a hard game. But I’m thrilled to birdie the last and get it done.”
Pendrith played the 18th hole to perfection, knocking his drive 322 yards down the middle before two-putting. Pendrith tied the low round of the week Saturday with an 8-under 63 to get into the final group Sunday and made just one bogey en route to a 4-under 67.
He became the second Canadian to win on the PGA Tour this year – after Nick Taylor at the WM Phoenix Open – and will likely move into the top 60 in the world, his highest-ever spot on the Official World Golf Ranking, when the rankings are confirmed Monday.
Among the big-time rewards Pendrith earns with his victory, he gets a spot in the Wells Fargo Championship next week (a Signature Event), the PGA Championship in two weeks, and next April he will make his debut at the Masters.
Pendrith attended a dinner hosted by International Presidents Cup team captain Mike Weir earlier in the week and with his win, he’ll very much have Weir’s attention as the balance of the season unfolds to join the team on home soil in Montreal.
Pendrith said earlier in the week he had switched out the shaft in his driver about a month ago and he got plenty of his confidence back with the big stick. He entered the week 151st on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: off the tee but he was sixth in that stat for the week at TPC Craig Ranch. Combine the off-the-tee impressiveness with an all-world short game (he was third in strokes gained: around the green and 14th in strokes gained: putting) and you have as complete an effort as Pendrith has ever had on the PGA Tour.
Pendrith had a PRP injection in his injured left shoulder about two-and-a-half months ago and that has got him feeling “way better,” he said earlier in the week. He also admitted his mental game “hasn’t been great” the last six weeks or so, but he worked with his coach – Adrienne Leslie-Toogood – on his approach to things inside the ropes.
“I’ve just been working on acceptance. Everyone wants that putt to win a PGA Tour event. I was nervous for sure (over the final putt) but my caddie and I, we’ve been working on our communication, and he said, ‘this is the straightest putt you’ve had all year, just knock it in,’” Pendrith said.
The injuries and the doubt and the long road finally reached an impressive and exciting finish line Sunday night. A special moment for his family unfolded – one of those things that PGA Tour parents long talk about. And now Pendrith gets to put his name in history alongside one of the game’s greats.
“It feels unbelievable to see some of those names on this trophy, it’s crazy,” Pendrith said. “I still can’t believe that I’m a winner of this tournament.”
