McIlroy and Pendrith Taking Opposite Momentum Into RBC Canadian Open

CALEDON, ONT – The 114th Canadian Open starts tomorrow on the grounds of TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley. Many top golfers have arrived in the Caledon area to tackle the course at this year’s RBC Canadian Open.

Rory McIlroy highlights the field, while the Canadian contingent is highlighted by Corey Conners, Nick Taylor, and Taylor Pendrith.

At media day press conferences, we heard from McIlroy and Pendrith about the upcoming tournament.

“Playing in front of the Canadian fans and everything that goes along with that and the enthusiasm,” said the world number two golfer. “I think that atmosphere is really appreciated by the players that get to play in front of those fans.”

The Northern Irish golfer is looking for his third Canadian Open title, and some momentum heading into the US Open next week after some recent struggles.

“I think the last two weeks have been good for me just as a reset, just to sort of figure out where I'm at in my own head, what I want to do, where I want to play,” McIlroy remarked about not playing any tournaments, most notably The Memorial, the last two weeks. “Before playing in this event, 2016, 2017, 2018, I missed three cuts in a row at the U.S. Open, and since playing the Canadian Open the week before, I've had six top 10s in a row.”

Pendrith had similar sentiments about the atmosphere at his home event.

“It's an event that we as Canadians really look forward to. It's a big week for us. It's a really important week for us. To see what it's become, it's amazing.”

The 36th ranked golfer will look to carry his momentum from his past two tournaments this year, finishing top 15 in the PGA Championship and top five in The Memorial last weekend. While the 2nd ranked McIlroy is the betting favourite at +450, Pendrith at +2800 may be a sneaky play.

“I've played two Mackenzie TOUR events here, had a chance to win on the Mackenzie TOUR here, so I feel really comfortable here,” said Pendrith Wednesday afternoon in media availability. “Also played numerous rounds here with my friends from home in carts and music, so I feel pretty comfortable on the grounds.”

The Richmond Hill native is looking to ride this valuable course experience and local crowd to add his name to the list of Canadians to win the Canadian Open. If he could pull it off, he would take over as the most recent Canadian to win from group mate, and iconic Canadian Open logo inspiration, Nick Taylor.

Pendrith, Taylor, and Mackenzie Hughes make up an all-Canadian group that will tee off together for the first two days of the tournament. Teeing off right before McIlroy’s group, these will be two of the featured groups fans will flock to watch.

“I was expecting to hopefully play with one of my fellow Canadians this week because it's a cool week for us, and to get a full group of them is -- it'll be a blast.”