ROCHESTER, N.Y. – Taylor Pendrith had a 30-foot birdie attempt late in his round. He gripped the putter with his usual “claw” approach and rocked his shoulders back and through.
The putt tracked, rolled over a hump, and found the bottom of the cup. His mom, Jill, yelped with excitement.
It was an all-time great putting day for the Canadian and through 36 holes at the PGA Championship on Friday he is in red figures – a thrill of an accomplishment, considering the level of difficulty at this golf course.
“Probably the best putting day I’ve had in a long time,” Pendrith said. “Overall, super pleased.”
Pendrith shot a 1-under 69 in his second round at Oak Hill Country Club and, coupled with an even-par 70 on Thursday, he’ll head into the weekend as one of only 20-or-so guys who are under par.
The field was 3.68 strokes over par in the first round, the toughest opening round at the PGA Championship in 15 years.
Pendrith has played in two majors before this week and said he’s drawn some comparisons between this course and Winged Foot, where he finished tied for 23rd at the U.S. Open in 2020.
Even though Pendrith hit only three fairways on Friday (and five on Thursday, which tracks with his struggles off the tee this season), he managed to have an elite scrambling effort – he’s fifth in the stat through 36 holes – and an impressive putting performance. Pendrith was first in strokes gained by putting, through the morning at Oak Hill.
“I needed it today. If I had an average or bad putting day, it could have been ugly,” Pendrith admitted with a smile. “Couple nice putts early, some shorter ones, but it just gave me some confidence. I was rolling it well. I rolled it good yesterday and just didn’t make anything. To see a couple go in early was nice.
“I’ve just kind of managed my game well so far.”
Pendrith shot a 1-over 36 for his first nine holes on Friday, with eight pars and just a single bogey on the par-3 15th. He made birdies on Nos. 1 and 3 after making the turn, however, and added the lengthy birdie on the par-3 7th. He bogeyed his final hole of the day, but will still take a ton of confidence into the weekend.
“I’d like to say it was stress free-ish, but it was definitely a grind,” Mitch Theoret, Pendrith’s caddie, told Sportsnet.ca with a smile. “He putted really well today. Putted really well yesterday. Those 8-, 9-, 10-footers that you need, he made them. Every putt he’s been hitting has a chance to go in, so it’s really encouraging to see.”
Pendrith was inside the top 10 as the afternoon wave began to head onto the golf course, however he wasn’t the only Canadian in the conversation heading into the weekend.
In fact, the first round at Oak Hill was the first time four Canadians were inside the top 20 at the conclusion of any major championship round.
Corey Conners shot a 3-under 67 in the first round and remained tied for third through the morning wave, while Adam Svensson made birdie on his third hole Friday and was tied with Pendrith at 1-under early in his second round.
“There’s a bunch of us here this week, which is awesome to see,” Pendrith said of his countrymen. “Feel very comfortable here, but we’re always rooting for each other (and) trying to beat each other. It’s always nice to see a couple of flags on the leaderboard. It’s nice to see so far.”
Adam Hadwin will likely make the cut despite a 3-over 73 on Friday. He was steady until making a double bogey on the par-4 6th, playing the toughest hole of the week by nearly a half-shot over par.
Mackenzie Hughes shot 4-over 76 on Thursday and was inside the cut line as his second round got underway mid-afternoon.
Nick Taylor – despite a highlight-reel birdie from 68 feet on Friday – will miss the cut. This was Taylor’s first event back in action since he and wife Andie had a daughter, Harper, on May 6.