Taylor Pendrith fights through shoulder issue; grabs Byron Nelson lead

Taylor Pendrith has been coping with an ailing left shoulder for over a yr now, however that has not slowed him down on the CJ Up Byron Nelson.

He powered through the ache at TPC Craig Ranch, carding an 8-under 63 on Saturday to shoot up the leaderboard and into the lead at 19-under—the Canadian leads by one over Jake Knapp after 54 holes.

“Been playing some nice golf the last few weeks, and it’s nice to see it come together,” Pendrith stated.

“I think I just need to stay patient and play my own game. I can’t get ahead of myself. Make as many birdies as you can because I think it’ll take a low one tomorrow.”

Pendrith’s went very low on Saturday, due to a sizzling begin. After opening with a par-birdie-par begin, he chipped in for an eagle on back-to-back holes on the par-5 fifth and the quick par-4 sixth.

Suddenly, Pendrith discovered himself at 16-under par and in a share of the lead.

“It was nice to see those fall. The first one had a little bit of speed on the chip, and it hit the pin right in the middle, went around, and dropped into the hole,” Pendrith stated to Amanda Renner on the CBS Sports telecast after the spherical.

“The second one was a beautiful shot that rolled in like a putt. Nice to get off to a great start through six holes.”

Pendrith cooled off considerably after that, making solely three birdies over his ultimate 12 holes. Still, he didn’t make any bogies and is about on securing his first PGA Tour title.

“It will be a long day. Plenty of birdie opportunities,” Pendrith stated.

“Getting off to a nice start helps. If I don’t, there is no panic. I’m just going to take it one hole at a time and know that I’m probably going to make some birdies at some point, hopefully.”

A win would ship him to the Wells Fargo Championship—a Signature Event—and the PGA Championship at Valhalla.

But it might additionally assist his probabilities of making the Presidents Cup, which is able to happen in his native Canada in September. Pendrith performed for the International Team in 2022 as effectively.

“I haven’t had the best of years so far, but it’s a huge goal of mine, especially being in Canada, with Mike Weir as the captain,” Pendrith stated.

“Two years ago was awesome. Getting back to that stage would be amazing, and even more special to be in my home country. It’s definitely a goal of mine.”

Pendrith has had an up-and-down season, partially resulting from his well being points. He has missed the reduce in six of the 11 occasions he has performed but in addition has 4 top-11 finishes.

His finest consequence got here at Torrey Pines, the place he tied for ninth.

Perhaps his season improves drastically on Sunday. Should he go on to win, Pendrith will proceed a working pattern on the PGA Tour in 2024: coming into the winner’s circle for the primary time.

Jack Milko is a golf workers author for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be certain to take a look at @_PlayingThrough for extra golf protection. You can comply with him on Twitter @jack_milko as effectively.