Pendrith, Conners named to PC Cup team
TORONTO — Canada’s Taylor Pendrith and Corey Conners have been named to the international team at the upcoming Presidents Cup.
It’s the first time that more than one Canadian will compete in the best-on-best tournament that sees a team from the United States play an international squad.
Conners, from Listowel, Ont., was an automatic selection after finishing the PGA Tour season fourth on the international team standings.
Pendrith, from Richmond Hill, Ont., was a captain’s selection, officially chosen by South Africa’s Trevor Immelman on Tuesday. It’s an impressive turnaround after Pendrith missed four months of the
PGA Tour due to a broken rib.
Since Pendrith returned to play at the Barbasol Championship on July 10 he has been in the top 13 at five of six events, including tying for second at the Rocket Mortgage Classic on July 31.
“Taylor… in the last couple months, burst on to the scene, quite honestly,” said Immelman. “He sort of disappeared off of our radar a little bit because we weren’t quite sure how he was going to come back. But turns out, when he came back, he played some unbelievable golf.”
Quail Hollow Club outside of Charlotte, N.C., will host the Presidents Cup starting Sept. 20. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., a member of the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame, will be one of Immelman’s assistant captains.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., and
Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., were also considered for the event.
Immelman said that Hadwin and Hughes made his short list but that Pendrith’s impressive distance off the tee – his average of 316.1 yards per drive is 10th best on the PGA Tour – was an undeniable asset for his team.
“Hadwin has played a couple Presidents Cups, so he had that as a little bit of an edge in our decision-making process,” said Immelman. “Mac Hughes also a great putter, lives in Charlotte, so those were his advantages. But at the end of the day, we had to try and find a way to blend different things together, whether it be through team chemistry, whether it be through matchups with the golf course and how we believe the golf course is going to be set up.”