In his first event since the Presidents Cup, where he earned a pair of points for the Internationals, Taylor Pendrith went nuclear on Thursday at the Shriners Children’s Open.
The Canadian carded a 10-under 61, a round that featured 10 birdies and zero bogies, as it matched the lowest score of his career. His other 61 came during the second round of the 2021 Butterfield Bermuda Championship.
“I didn’t really expect a 10-under, I would say,” Pendrith admitted.
“I thought I would be a little bit more rusty than that. You know, obviously thrilled, and yeah, I just got to keep getting back into the rhythm of things over the next few days. But I feel good.”
Having started on the back nine, Pendrith birdied five of his first seven holes. A pair of pars on the 17th and 18th holes followed. Then, he rattled off three more par-breakers on the 1st, 3rd, and 4th. His birdie on the 4th hole came inches away from dropping in for an eagle-two.
Suddenly, when Pendrith arrived on the 5th tee, standing at 8-under with five holes to play, a sub-60 round seemed possible. After two-putting the par-3 5th, he added two more birdies on the 6th and 7th holes and walked to the challenging 8th hole at 10-under for the day. A 2-under finish over the final two holes, a long par-3 and a gettable par-5, would put him in rarefied air.
The Canadian two-putted from 55 feet away on the 8th and turned his attention towards the 9th, which measured 558 yards on Thursday. After piping his drive 356 yards down the middle of the fairway, Pendrith only had 203 remaining. But his second shot came up just a bit short.
“Tried to be aggressive and hit a good shot but just didn’t catch all of it. I came up short right in the bunker,” Pendrith said.
“My caddie and I didn’t really talk about [the idea of shooting 59], but we both knew I was going to try and hole the bunker shot. Obviously, it was a super solid round. Yeah, I feel good.”
Indeed, Pendrith should feel excellent about where his game stands, despite the three-week layoff since the Presidents Cup. He hit all but one green on Thursday and led the field in strokes gained putting. No wonder why he threatened a 59.
But his strong opening round should surprise nobody. Pendrith has had a career year, winning the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and finishing among the top 50 in the FedEx Cup standings for the first time. He also posted six top-10s and even tied for 16th at the U.S. Open.
“The confidence level is up for sure, I think. I was able to win last year and this year and have some really solid finishes at some big events, which gives you a lot of confidence,” Pendrith said when asked what is different this year.
“I would say my putting has improved the most. It’s the biggest improvement in my game from the last couple of seasons. I’ve been able to roll in some nice putts. Just seeing them go in gives you more confidence.”
The putter remained hot in Las Vegas on Thursday, and Pendrith now owns a three-shot lead over six players with 54 holes remaining.
Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.
