Canadian newlywed Taylor Pendrith will never forget October, and more bits and bites from the golf world

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 01/11/2021 (1771 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Bits, Bites and Barbs from around the world of golf:

Bits

Goodbye October, you glorious golf month you. Early November — don’t let us down … More on Taylor Pendrith below, but what an exciting month he just had. He was inducted into his alma mater’s hall of fame (alongside his pals Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes), he got married, and he had a chance to win his first PGA Tour title. It didn’t finish well, sure, but quite the 31 days nonetheless … Pendrith continues his working honeymoon in Mexico this week at the World Wide Technology Championship at Mayakoba. He’s in the field alongside fellow Canadians Adam Hadwin, Roger Sloan, Adam Svensson and Nick Taylor … The final stage of Korn Ferry Tour qualifying school takes place this week. Two Canadians are in the field: Toronto’s Albin Choi and Shanty Bay, Ont.’s Drew Nesbitt. Choi, the one-time amateur standout who’s dealt with injuries throughout his professional career, made his way through Q-school’s first two stages to be in the field for the final. Nesbitt is there by way of the PGA Tour Latinoamerica points list. Everybody who advances to the final stage gets some degree of 2022 Korn Ferry Tour status, but players need to finish tied for 40th or better to guarantee starts … If you ever get the chance, don’t turn down an invite to play the nine-hole Toronto Hunt Club. One could say that about a lot of private courses, sure, but Toronto Hunt, on the bluffs above Lake Ontario, is such a neat spot. Super fun round with some super holes.

Bites

I’ve never dressed up as a golfer, but if I did it would be Patrick Reed and I’d steal everybody else’s candy … The first of a new video instruction series is up on SCOREGolf.com. We’ll have tips from three of Canada’s top coaches — Derek Ingram, Gareth Raflewski and Tristan Mullally — throughout the off-season. By the way: It’s amazing how much you can learn being on location for such shoots … It will be fascinating to follow the goings-on of the new 10-event Saudi-backed, big-money Asian Tour series that World Golf Hall of Famer Greg Norman is fronting. Which stars will be lured by the riches? Will the PGA Tour provide players with releases to play these events? Which PGA Tour events will find themselves opposite these new events? Will those who have publicly shunned any type of Saudi tour — namely Rory McIlroy — stick to their guns? You’d like to think there are many reasons not to play in such events, but money talks in the world of golf and word is a lot of big names are interested … Something else to track: What will the field for the 2022 RBC Canadian Open be like? After seeing the Bermuda Championship struggle to fill its field there was some thought that the island’s requirement for visitors to be fully vaccinated — same as Canada’s — was the primary reason for so many tournament withdrawals. That was likely a factor, sure, but there were others too, such as the difficulty of travelling to Bermuda on short notice and the inability of players to get in practice rounds if they went. Getting back to Canada, I have to believe that most of the game’s top players — those fans would pay to see — have been vaccinated with their busy travel schedules. In short, I’m not too worried.

Barbs

It was a tough Sunday in Bermuda for Taylor Pendrith. The 54-hole Butterfield Bermuda Championship leader didn’t make a birdie during a final-round 76, which dropped him down into a tie for fifth. Three shots ahead to start the day and three shots behind when it finished. Obviously facing such crazy weather conditions in his first legitimate chance to win a PGA Tour event was not ideal for Pendrith, although everybody was dealt the same hand and there were several very good rounds carded. But as Pendrith said, there are positives to be taken out of the experience, especially considering he didn’t see the golf course until play began on Thursday. For one, Pendrith served noticed to the golf world at large. His play through three rounds had TV analysts gushing, with them learning what Pendrith’s peers have known for some time: that he is an extremely talented golfer with perhaps the most power in the game. Being so long off the tee in this era is massively beneficial, and if there is one natural ability a golfer would want above all others it’s distance. However, Pendrith’s game is not all bomb and gouge. In Bermuda, he showed a wonderful ability to play different types of shots, flighting irons and wedges down to control his distances beautifully. He has tremendous hands and a much-improved putting stroke. And he is, by the way, 4 for 4 in cuts made thus far in this his rookie PGA Tour season. It’s too much of a cliché to say that it’s only a matter of time before Pendrith breaks through and wins, because he’s so early in big-league career. He may win a bunch or he may not win at all. But he’s got the goods to be very successful, and everybody knows it now.

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Obscure thought of the week: I’m not sure our “take a few, not them all” sign above our Halloween candy bowl was heeded by all.

Jason Logan is the editor of SCOREGolf Magazine and is based in Toronto. He is a contributor to the Star’s Sports section. Follow him on Twitter: @jasonSCOREGolf