With shoulder on the mend, Taylor Pendrith pushes toward Presidents Cup bubble

Editor's note: This article was originally published on Thursday, May 2, during Round 1 of THE CJ CUP.

An injured shoulder isn’t ideal in pro golf, especially for a player who considers driver a premier asset.

Such has been Taylor Pendrith’s conundrum for the better part of two years. But he’s on the upswing at an opportune time, as the Canadian seeks a spot at his home country’s Presidents Cup later this fall.

Pendrith opened THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson in 7-under 64, one off the lead through Thursday’s morning wave at TPC Craig Ranch. The 32-year-old found soggy conditions to his liking with seven birdies on a bogey-free morning, his lowest opening round on TOUR since the 2022 Rocket Mortgage Classic (where he finished T2).

The Toronto-area native also gained nearly 1.5 strokes off the tee, important context considering the shoulder ailment that reduced his clubhead speed and has reduced his competitive advantage in the long-game (he ranked No. 12 in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee in 2022, ranked No 40 in 2023 and currently ranks No. 151 in 2024).

The culprit: calcific tendonitis in his left shoulder, which first emerged in January 2023 at the Farmers Insurance Open. Pendrith has underwent three different nonsurgical procedures to address the issue; he received PRP injections the week of the WM Phoenix Open in February, and he considered surgery but opted against due to the need to work through the rotator cuff and consequent longer recovery.

Pendrith said Thursday that he has started to feel better in recent weeks, and the results match up. He arrived in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex on the strength of back-to-back T11 finishes (at the Corales Puntacana Championship, and at last week’s Zurich Classic of New Orleans alongside Corey Conners). After making his Presidents Cup debut in 2022 at Quail Hollow, he faces a long road ahead to regain his spot on the International Team (he’s currently No. 26), but recent developments bode well for a summertime move up the standings.

“Been tough mentally for sure,” Pendrith said Thursday. “I would say my game is built around driving the golf ball and I've lost a lot of speed in the last year. Now I'm getting it back, so I can I guess fully commit to my driver swing and hit it hard again; whereas before I would flinch or ease off. Mentally it's been difficult. Getting back to kind of how I like to play golf I guess and can swing hard on the shots, so that’s a good feeling.”

Also consider the opening round a good sign for Pendrith’s beloved Toronto Maple Leafs, who face elimination Thursday in the first round of the NHL Playoffs (Toronto trails Boston, three games to two, in the best-of-seven series). Pendrith shot 7 under – perhaps the Leafs will take matters to a seventh game.

Tuesday evening, Pendrith attended a dinner of Presidents Cup International Team prospects, hosted by team captain Mike Weir (who once donned his Masters green jacket to drop the puck for a ceremonial face off at a 2003 Maple Leafs playoff game).

Pendrith knows Presidents Cups in his home country don’t come around often (the last was in 2007), and he intends not to let the window pass him by.

“Huge motivation for me obviously to get back on that team,” Pendrith said Thursday. “It being in Canada this year is extra motivation, and Mike Weir being the captain. Yeah, just to be in that room with all those guys and hear stories from previous Presidents Cups was really cool. It was a great dinner, and something I am really hoping to be a part.”

For the first time in a while, his shoulder is cooperating accordingly.