Canadian fires 10-under 61 to grab Shriners Children’s Open lead

Taylor Pendrith came to his final hole Thursday at the Shriners Children’s Open needing an eagle to shoot 59.

When his second shot landed in a greenside bunker, Pendrith’s next thought was to be aggressive.

“Me and my caddie didn’t really talk about it, but I think we both knew I was going to try and hole the bunker shot,” he said.

Pendrith’s ball ran 13 feet past the hole. He missed the comebacker, settling for a 10-under 61 and a three-shot lead after the first round at TPC Summerlin.

Former UNLV golfers Harry Hall and Garrick Higgo were among 10 players tied at 7-under 64. That group also includes Las Vegas residents Doug Ghim, Rico Hoey and Joseph Bramlett.

Conditions are expected to become more difficult for Friday’s second round. Temperatures are forecasted for the 60s and wind is expected to gust well above 30 mph.

“I feel like we had the same (yardage) a few times and was able to hit some close wedges and made a lot of putts inside 10 feet,” Pendrith said. “Everything was on. I would have liked to birdie the last (hole) or make eagle but I’m still very, very pleased.”

Pendrith was making his first start since the Presidents Cup at the end of September and matched his career-low round on the PGA Tour. He also shot a 61 in the Bermuda Championship in 2021.

He had five birdies on each side, including three straight starting on No. 11, which was his second hole of the day. The Canadian missed only one fairway and one green in regulation.

Pendrith, who finished tied for third at last year’s Shriners Children’s Open, was one shot off the course record of 60 last set by Rod Pampling in 2017.

“I’ve got good vibes out here and really like the golf course and the layout,” Pendrith said. “The conditions are going to get tricky the next day and a half, so I’ve just got to grind through that and hopefully just grind it out and see what happens.”

Hall was one of several players with local ties near the top of the leaderboard. He took advantage of the calm conditions during the morning wave, going out in 3-under 33.

After a bogey on No. 6, his 15th hole, Hall bounced back with three straight birdies — he nearly holed out for eagle on No. 8 — to finish with a 64.

“I don’t expect to birdie (No.) 8 any time I play it, but I hit a great 7-wood in there to a foot, which was the best shot of the day,” Hall said. “I kind of just tried hard today to not (put pressure on myself) and just go and hit every shot as good as I could.”

Ghim had nine birdies and two bogeys during his round of 64. That included three straight birdies on Nos. 15, 16 and 17. Higgo, who went out in the afternoon wave when conditions were much tougher, birdied his final hole to card a 64.

Former UNLV standout Ryan Moore shot a 65, as did former Bonanza golfer Scott Piercy. Former UNLV golfers Charley Hoffman and Kurt Kitayama were in with 66s.

Two-time defending champion Tom Kim bogeyed three of his first five holes but bounced back to shoot 2-under 69.

Joel Dahmen was penalized four strokes for having more than 14 clubs in his bag. Dahman, who carded a 76, called it “bizarro” and said he discovered on the fourth tee he was carrying an extra 4-iron.

“If you play golf long enough, weird stuff is going to happen out here,” Dahmen said. “You just want to get so mad and you want to get mad at everything. But at the same time, you’ve just got to keep playing golf, and I didn’t do a great job of that afterwards.”

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on X.