Canada's Taylor Pendrith holds 1-shot lead through 2 rounds at Rocket Mortgage Classic
Richmond Hill, Ont. native starts day with 4 consecutive birdies
Taylor Pendrith grew up getting breaks from golf, putting the clubs away each winter in Canada.
That may have helped him when he had to miss nearly four months of competition due to a painful injury earlier this year.
Pendrith shot a 7-under 65 on Friday to take a one-shot lead over Tony Finau into the weekend in the Rocket Mortgage Classic.
Pendrith is playing in his third tournament after being unable to swing a club for 12 weeks due to a broken rib, a break that reminded him of his youth.
"We have a long off-season in Canada, so I didn't touch a club all winter basically growing up so I guess I'm kind of used to it in a way," he said.
Pendrith said matter of factly that he can compete with the best when he's healthy and has showed that so far at Detroit Golf Club.
WATCH | Pendrith dazzles in 2nd round:
No one, though, has been better than Finau lately.
The Salt Lake City native with Tongan-Samoan heritage is 32 under over his last 107 holes, including rallying from a five-shot deficit last Sunday in Minnesota to win the 3M Open by three shots.
Finau, meanwhile, started slow with only one birdie on the front nine before carding five birdies on the back. He has a shot be the first PGA Tour player to win two straight regular season tournaments since Brendon Todd in 2019.
"Anytime you win, you breed confidence," Finau said. "I was just happy to carry that confidence from last week right into this week."
Pendrith, Finau distance themselves from pack
Pendrith and Finau had a bit of a cushion.
Rookie Lee Hodges (66) was three shots back.
PGA Tour rookie of the year front-runner Cameron Young tied a Detroit Golf Club record with a 63 for a share of fourth place — five shots back — with Russell Henley (65) and Stewart Cink (66).
Rookie Sahith Theegala (67) was another shot back in a pack that includes defending FedEx Cup champion Patrick Cantlay, who bounced back from an opening-round 70 with a 65.
Davis Love III, the 58-year-old U.S. Presidents Cup captain, was in Detroit in part to play and more importantly to get to know players better on and off the course that may represent the country in September at Quail Hollow Club in North Carolina.
Taylor Pendrith holds the lead by one over Tony Finau as we head into the weekend. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/RocketMortgageClassic?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#RocketMortgageClassic</a> <a href="https://t.co/W04qEwHkjc">pic.twitter.com/W04qEwHkjc</a>
—@RocketClassicLove missed the cut at 5-over 149, but made the most of an opportunity to have dinner with some President Cup candidates and to play two rounds with with Young and Will Zalatoris.
Young and Zalatoris, teammates at Wake Forest and close friends, may be paired together again in two months.
"If they make the team, they're a natural," Love said.
Zalatoris, No. 13 in the world ranking, perhaps felt pressure playing with Love because he barely made the cut. He had to birdie his 36th hole to get to 3 under, the cut line, with a pair of lackluster rounds.
If Young does not earn an automatic spot on the American team, he might be a captain's pick.
Young had a runner-up finish at the British Open and at the PGA Championship, he missed a playoff by a shot. He has four second-place finishes, was third in two tournaments. And in Detroit, Young showed Love up close what he can do.
"I would hope that I made some kind of case," he said.
