PGA win as a rookie would be a bonus
Richmond Hill’s Pendrith hoping to continue nice stretch of play in first season on tour
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLA. PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan was making the rounds Wednesday morning at TPC Sawgrass, giving each rookie at The Players Championship a set of Tiffany cufflinks commemorating their debut at the event.
Taylor Pendrith, one of those rookies, laughed as Monahan peppered him with hockey questions — about the position he played growing up, about his caddy, Mitch Theoret, being drafted by the New York Islanders, and about the Boston Bruins, the commissioner’s favourite team.
“It’s a bit of a touchy subject,” Pendrith, a Maple Leafs fan from Richmond Hill, said with a smile. “But every time I see him, we talk hockey.”
This week is all about the golf, however, and Pendrith is hoping to continue a nice stretch of play in his rookie campaign at the annual stop at TPC Sawgrass, which this year boasts a record purse of $20 million (U.S.). Pendrith is 61st in the FedExCup standings, second among Canadians.
“My game is good enough to win if I play great for four days; I just haven’t proved that yet,” Pendrith said. “I’m competitive and I want to win but, at this point in my rookie year, I’m still learning and trying to finish as well as I can. If you get a win, that’s a bonus.”
Pendrith will be part of a record Canadian contingent at The Players, joining Mackenzie Hughes, Adam Hadwin, Roger Sloan and Corey Conners, the country’s top-ranked male golfer. Conners takes a lot of confidence from both a tie for 11th last week and his comfort level at TPC Sawgrass, which reminds him a lot of his home course in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla. He tied for seventh here last year.
Conners played 27 practice holes with Pendrith and said his friend’s game is looking sharp.
“I just love his game and I think he’ll have a good week,” said Conners. “He’s been playing very solid this year and I think his comfort level is growing.”
Pendrith has been learning from the game’s best. He was paired with former world No. 1 Dustin Johnson — someone Pendrith says he models his game after — in the third round of the Farmers Insurance Open a few weeks ago and was able to see how Johnson picks apart golf courses. He hopes to put some of that knowledge to use at TPC Sawgrass, where accuracy off the tee will be at a premium this week. High winds and rain are in the forecast, starting Thursday.
Pendrith, like Conners, loves Pete Dye courses and this is arguably Dye’s masterpiece.
He’s been playing very solid this year and I think his comfort level is growing.
COREY CONNERS ON TAYLOR PENDRITH
“It’s kind of right in front of you,” Pendrith said. “It’ll be a challenge, but I’m really looking forward to it.”
The Players is the third event in the last month that Pendrith got into late — he was also one of the final players in The Genesis Invitational and the Arnold Palmer Invitational fields — so he’s had to do a little more prep than normal.
He had tried co-ordinating family visits for the week of The Genesis and again this week, but ended up getting into both tournaments. He and his wife Meg moved into a home minutes away from Conners in Palm Beach Gardens in November and haven’t had many family members down to see it yet.
“It’s been an interesting change of events, but all for the good,” Pendrith said. “I’m just super happy to be here. Probably one of the nicest courses in the world, the field is probably one of the best of the year, and I’m looking forward to testing myself.”