After weeks of hanging around the top of Mackenzie Tour leaderboards, Taylor Pendrith has finally broken through.
The product of Richmond Hill, Ont., fired a course-record 62 at the Edmonton Country Club on Sunday to win the 1932byBateman Open by three strokes. Pendrith’s victory comes a week after tying for third at the HFX Pro-Am and finishing second at the Osprey Valley Open the week before that.
“It’s great to come through, finally,” said Pendrith, who finished 17-under 267 overall. “I’ve been playing pretty good golf the past couple of months, really, and have been close the past few weeks. But to get a win, it’s a lot of confidence, knowing that I can win.
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The win moves Pendrith up to fourth in the Mackenzie Tour’s Order of Merit, a critical step in his career. The top player on the Mackenzie Tour at the end of the season will be fully exempt on the Korn Ferry Tour next season, with Nos. 2-5 earning conditional status on that circuit, one step below the PGA Tour.
“It feels really good and kickstarts the second half of the season,” said Pendrith. “Hopefully I can finish off strong.”
Pendrith’s win was also a small milestone for Canadian golf. He became the first Canadian to win on the Mackenzie Tour since Adam Cornelson of New Westminster, B.C., did it in 2016 at the Bayview Place DC Payments Open.
“You see it now, there’s so many Canadians on the PGA Tour, on the Korn Ferry Tour, and there’s a lot of Canadians out here trying to make their way to join them,” said Pendrith. “This tour now, there’s so much competition, a lot of American guys coming up straight out of college. It’s pretty difficult to win.
“I’m super proud of the win and hopefully myself or other Canadians can get some more wins this year. I’m always rooting for them and we’d like to see some more Canadians on the PGA Tour.”
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