The Canadian, who is looking for his first PGA Tour victory, tied the tournament record with his 54-hole score of 194
By Patrick McDonald
• 1 min read
Despite dealing with a nagging shoulder injury, Taylor Pendrith is in line for his first career victory on the PGA Tour. The big-hitting Canadian made the most of his Moving Day on Saturday at the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson and utilized a third-round 63 to propel his name to the top of the leaderboard at 19 under. Pendrith's 194 total ties the tournament record for lowest 54-hole score.
Pendrith will take a one-stroke lead over Jake Knapp into the final round at TPC Craig Ranch after enduring a frustrating start to his spring. Beginning his year with quality outings at the Sony Open and Farmers Insurance Open, Pendrith hit a snag when tendonitis in his left shoulder flared up.
With his greatest superpower – his speed – affected, the 32-year-old struggled. Pendrith missed five of six cuts including four straight at one stage and looked like the shell of his usual self. Measures were made to alleviate the stress and has allowed Pendrith to perform like a player of his caliber can over the last month.
Back-to-back T11 finishes the last two weeks set the stage for Pendrith's coming out party at TPC Craig Ranch where he entered the weekend three strokes off the pace. He made up the deficit and then some in the first third of his round not because of his vaunted long game but because of his short game.
A chip-in eagle on the par-5 5th pushed Pendrith to 3 under on the day and a pitch-in eagle on the very next put his name atop the leaderboard by itself. With this stretch, Pendrith became only the third player this year to card back-to-back eagles on the PGA Tour.
"Obviously a bonus for both of those to go in," Pendrith said. "Two really good shots. First one had a little bit of steam so maybe got a little lucky to drop. You know, I was just thinking, just keep going. I hit a really nice shot on the next par-3 and hit a good putt; just didn't break enough. But this is kind of a course you can get an a run and make a lot of birdies, and the guys behind me I'm sure were doing the same. Just got to keep the momentum going and try and make as many as you can."
While Knapp opened with two birdies across his first five holes, the overnight leader stalled in the middle portion of his round. Pendrith took advantage and kept his foot on the gas pedal with birdies on Nos. 9, 12 and 13. There were missed opportunities coming in on Nos. 14 and 18, but Pendrith persisted and is alone in pole position heading into a potentially career-altering final round.
The leader
1. Taylor Pendrith (-19)
The talent has always been there for the Canadian, but unfortunately so have the injuries. He enjoyed a really nice rookie season in 2022 that saw him nab a number of high quality results and a spot on the International Presidents Cup team despite a three-month layoff at one point during the summer. The sky was the limit in his sophom*ore campaign, but it did not amount to much until this year's FedEx Cup Fall. This year is following a similar trend of his first two where he has gone dark at various stages, but when his upside flashes, it flashes in a big way.
"Just got to stay aggressive, play my own game, not really worry about the other guys, what they're doing," Pendrith said. "Been playing some nice golf the last few weeks, and it's nice to see it come together. I think just stay patient and play my own game and don't get ahead of myself. Make as many birdies as you can, because I think it'll take a low one tomorrow."
Other contenders
2. Jake Knapp (-18)
T3. Ben Kohles, Matt Wallace (-17)
T5. Alex Noren, Kelly Kraft (-15)
T7. Kevin Tway, Vincent Whaley, Byeong Hun An, Troy Merritt (-14)
The solo 36-hole leader didn't have his best stuff on Saturday, but he did enough to give himself a chance for his second victory of the season Sunday. Knapp knocked in an opening birdie to widen his lead to two and added another four holes later on the first par 5 of the front side.
Knapp's next birdie wouldn't come for another nine holes, and while he was stuck in neutral, others were still in drive. He saw his name drift from the top spot during this time, but he remained patient, tacked on a birdie on 14 and another on 18 to pull him within one. With a win, Knapp would become the first rookie since Xander Schauffele in 2017 to win multiple times and only the second player this season to do so joining world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
How about this kid?!
Kris Kim made history Friday evening when he became the youngest player ever to make the cut at the Byron Nelson. The 16-year-old surpassed previous records held by teenagers by the name of Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Spieth and became the youngest to make the cut on the PGA Tour in nearly a decade. Kim carded his third straight under-par round Saturday with a 1-under 70 and nearly pushed his name into contention with a flurry of early birdies highlighted by a near hole-in-one on the par-3 4th.
"It's been really cool," Kim said. "Makes it a little bit more fun playing with the crowds in my opinion. It was just such a good experience today."
2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson updated odds and picks
Odds via Sportsline consensus
- Taylor Pendrith: 19/10
- Jake Knapp: 12/5
- Matt Wallace: 13/2
- Ben Kohles: 9-1
- Alex Noren: 14-1
Let's roll with Knapp. The 36-hole leader made only one putt outside 10 feet all day (his birdie on 18) and was still able to remain in touching distance. The Mexico Open winner leads this field in strokes gained approach thus far and will lean on those clubs to set up ample scoring opportunities on Sunday. Pendrith is tasked with following up a great round with another which is never an easy task, while Knapp seems close to firing a low one of his own.
Rick Gehman and Greg DuCharme recap the third round of the CJ CUP Byron Nelson from TPC Craig Ranch. Follow & listen to The First Cut onApple PodcastsandSpotify.
