Canadians Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith both finished near the top of the leaderboard at the Shriners Children's Open on Sunday and are resting this week, considering what to do next. Hadwin hits from the seventh tee during the third round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament Saturday, Aug. 12, 2023, in Memphis, Tenn. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-George Walker IV
Canadians Adam Hadwin and Taylor Pendrith both finished near the top of the leaderboard at the Shriners Children’s Open on Sunday and are resting this week as they consider what to do next.
Hadwin finished second at TPC Summerlin on Sunday, one shot behind eventual winner Tom Kim of South Korea. Pendrith was in a group tied for third, a shot back of his fellow Canadian.
“It was a good week. I didn’t know what to expect coming in,” said Hadwin, who had last played in a PGA Tour event on Aug. 20 at the BMW Championship. “I hadn’t played since the playoff event in Chicago, about seven weeks ago, so it was nice to play.
“I was really ready to compete. I was missing the competition of things.”
Pendrith hadn’t played for a month, missing the cut at the Fortinet Championship in mid-September. The native of Richmond Hill, Ont., returned to Canada to see family before heading to Las Vegas for the Shriners Children’s Open.
“Kind of a blur, but I took the red eye home Sunday night from Vegas and got here about noon on Monday,” said Pendrith from his residence in Florida. “It’s nice to be home. We haven’t been here in probably five weeks.”
Hadwin and Pendrith’s stop-and-start schedule is partly thanks to the PGA Tour’s new calendar, as the top men’s golf tour in the world transitions to a regular season that starts in January instead of straddling two years.
Hadwin, who is from Abbotsford, B.C., said that because he’s 45th in the FedEx Cup Fall standings, he might not play again in 2023.
“I’m going to probably speak with some of those statisticians and analysts and see whether or not I may be able to maintain my top 50 ranking without playing,” said Hadwin, who wants to finish the year within the top 50 to qualify for the 2024 Masters. “I know that sometimes, depending on how the points shake out, you’re better off not playing than playing.”
Hadwin said that he would consider his options and possibly play in one of November’s tournaments. Pendrith, on the other hand, said he intends to keep playing, likely at the World Wide Technology Championship in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Nov. 2, Butterfield Bermuda Championship on Nov. 9, and the RSM Classic in St. Simons Island, Ga., on Nov. 16.
“A win now has the same perks as a win in the regular season. I can still play my way into the elevated events at the start of the year with some good finishes in the next three weeks,” said Pendrith, who earned a PGA Tour card for next season with his tie for third on Sunday. “There’s still lots to play for.
“I feel like my game’s good right now and my body feels good. Why not play is kind of what I’m thinking.”
Regardless of whether or not they play in November, both Canadians are looking forward to a six-week break through December and into January. They said they want to spend time with their young families.
“I do like the idea of having three, four months to work on a few things, maybe add a few pounds, work on getting faster and stronger and all those sorts of things without having golf matter,” said Hadwin, who will also participate in some fundraising events for the Hadwin Family Foundation during his break. “It’s nice to be able to work without chasing FedEx points or wanting to get the year off started on a good note.”
Pendrith said he’s eager to spend time in his new house in Florida. He has also got into the wine business, launching the Taylor Pendrith Wine Collection through Pillitteri Estates in Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.
“I’ve liked wine for a number of years and we thought it’d be a cool thing to get this going,” said Pendrith. “I was there two weeks ago to taste it for the first time, which was really cool. Got a tour of the whole place and saw where the wine was made and it’s pretty neat.
“I think it’s great that it’s a Canadian winery, and they’ve won tons of awards for their wines.”
PGA TOUR – Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., is the highest ranked Canadian on the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall rankings. He sits 25th heading into this week’s ZOZO Championship in Chiba, Japan. He’ll be joined at the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club by No. 37 Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., and No. 55 Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont.
CHAMPIONS TOUR – Calgary’s Stephen Ames is fourth heading into this week’s Dominion Energy Charity Classic in Richmond, Va. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., is also playing at The Country Club of Virginia and sits 43rd in the rankings.
LPGA TOUR – Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is the lone Canadian playing at the BMW Ladies Championship. She sits 12th in the Race to CME Globe standings heading into play at Seowon Hills at Seowon Valley Country Club in Paju-si, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2023.
