Pendrith the lone Canadian to advance to East Lake; Presidents Cup teams begin to form
Published
Taylor Pendrith will be the lone Canadian competing at next week's season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
Pendrith wasn't at his best during Sunday's final round at the BMW Championship from Castle Pines Golf Club in Colorado, shooting a 1-over 73 to finish 5-under for the tournament.
The 33-year-old native of Richmond Hill, Ont., finished tied for 13th and sits 25th in the FedEx Cup Playoffs standings, five spots within the top-30 cut line for the Tour Championship. Pendrith came into the 50-player BMW Championship tied for 27th, but was able to move up two spots after shooting 7-under on Friday.
Corey Conners and Adam Hadwin weren't so lucky.
Conners, who came into the tournament ranked 33rd, needed a solo 28th finish or better to have a chance at advancing to the Tour Championship. The 32-year-old from Listowel, Ont., accomplished that feat by shooting 4-under and finishing the BMW Championship in a tie for 22nd, but it wasn't enough after the likes of Keegan Bradley (started 50th in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, won BMW Championship), Adam Scott (started 41st, T2 at BMW) and Tommy Fleetwood (started 31st, finished T5 at BMW) all making major jumps in Colorado.
Conners, who is now ranked 39th in the FedEx Cup Playoffs, shot 1-over during Sunday's final round for the second straight day after opening the BWM Championship with back-to-back rounds of under par golf.
Moose Jaw's Adam Hadwin was a long shot to advance after starting the BMW Championship in 42nd place in the FedEx Cup Playoffs standings. The 36-year-old finished in a tie for 41st with a final score of 3-over, shooting even par on Sunday.
Despite struggling this week, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (starting at 10-under) will have the top ranking at the Tour Championship, followed by Xander Schauffele (starting at 8-under) and Hideki Matsuyama (starting at 7-under).
Pendrith will start the Tour Championship at 1-under in his first time playing the prestigious event.
The Tour Championship uses the Starting Strokes format and has a $25 million grand prize for the winner.
Presidents Cup teams become clearer
The Canadians were also looking to catch the eye of International team captain Mike Weir with the selections for the Presidents Cup quickly approaching.
A top six position on the Official World Golf Ranking following the BMW Championship earned an automatic qualification spot for the Presidents Cup, however no Canadians were able to make the jump up.
The six automatic qualifiers for the International Team are South Korea's Byeong Hun An, Sungjae Im and Tom Kim, Australia's Adam Scott and Jason Day as well as Japan's Hideki Matsuyama.
The first six players for the Team United States include Patrick Cantlay, Wyndham Clark, Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Scottie Scheffler, and Xander Schauffele.
Pendrith, Conners and Hadwin and possibly Mackenzie Hughes and Nick Taylor all hope to be included as part of Weir's six captain picks, which will be announced after the Tour Championship.
The Presidents Cup runs from Sept. 24-29 at the Royal Montreal Golf Club.