Taylor Pendrith of Canada fired a 10-under-par 61 to leap out to a sizeable lead after one round of the Shriners Children’s Open on Thursday in Las Vegas.
Nine players were tied for second at 7-under 64 late in the round, and 11 others were tied for 11th at 6 under as play was wrapping up at TPC Summerlin.
Pendrith tied his career-low 18-hole score Thursday by making five birdies on each nine. He started on the back nine and sank a 12 1/2-foot birdie putt at No. 11; after that, he did not need to make a putt longer than 10 feet, as his approaches were on point. Pendrith nearly holed out for eagle at the par-4 fourth, leaving himself a few inches for birdie.
Pendrith won his first PGA Tour title in May at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson and competed in last month’s Presidents Cup for the International team. After finishing the summer inside the top 50, he is not vying for FedEx Cup Fall standings points to keep his tour card, but others have the future on their minds. The top 125 players at the end of the fall will retain full status on tour.
Joseph Bramlett (No. 146) and Bud Cauley (No. 156) are two of the nine players tied at 64 and would greatly benefit from a boost in the standings with a strong showing this week.
Also tied at 64 were J.T. Poston, Mark Hubbard, Doug Ghim, Canadian Ben Silverman, Rico Hoey of the Philippines, England’s Harry Hall and Germany’s Matti Schmid.
Rickie Fowler is not far off the pace after carding a 5-under 66. Tom Kim of South Korea, the tournament’s two-time defending champion, opened with a 2-under 69.
–Field Level Media
