Canadian Taylor Pendrith can finally enjoy his first victory on the PGA Tour circuit.
In his 74th start, he was crowned champion of the Byron Nelson tournament with a birdie on the last hole on Sunday.
The Canadian entered the final round in command of the competition following a 63 on his scorecard on Saturday. However, he saw the American Ben Kohles giving chase. Thanks to birdies at the 16th and 17th holes, Kohles showed up on the par-5 18th hole with a one-shot priority over his Canadian rival.
However, it was from his third shot that everything changed. Ending up in the tall grass a few feet from the green, the American completely missed his approach shot and had to hit the tall grass again.
“Honestly, I haven’t seen tall grass like this all week,” Kohles said. I needed a little more elevation on the ball. I accomplished so many good things this week. I’m just going to remember that and try to put myself back in that position. »
The door was open at this moment for Pendrith to at least force overtime since he was able to land his second shot just on the green with an eagle attempt in front of him. He knew how to bring his ball three feet from the cup.
Kohles had a five-foot putt in front of him to save par, but he just missed to leave with a bogey and a cumulative score of minus-22.
Pendrith knew how to forget the pressure and he stuck his putt to record the victory with a final card of 67 and a final score of minus-23.
“I was trying not to pay attention to what he was doing, even though it was hugely important, obviously,” Pendrith said. I feel bad for Ben. He played very well today, especially during the last holes. I’ve been on the other side of the coin before, that’s golf. »
Alex Noren completes the top-3, two shots behind the leader.
Before this tournament, Pendrith had nine appearances in the top-10 and three in the top-5, including a second place at the Rocket Mortgage Classic behind Tony Finau in August 2022.
He made the turn to the professional ranks in 2014 after being a star golfer in the American collegiate ranks, with Kent State University.
