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07/26/24 08:35:00
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07/26 20:18 CDT Canadian Taylor Pendrith leads the 3M Open in pursuit of his
2nd victory of the year
Canadian Taylor Pendrith leads the 3M Open in pursuit of his 2nd victory of the
year
By MIKE COOK
Associated Press
BLAINE, Minn. (AP) --- Taylor Pendrith shot a 7-under 64 on Friday to take a
two-stroke lead over Matt NeSmith into the weekend in the 3M Open.
Playing in windier afternoon conditions, Pendrith made a 30-foot birdie putt on
the par-4 16th and tapped in for another birdie on the par-5 18th. He had a
12-under 130 total at the TPC Twin Cities, playing the first 36 holes without a
bogey.
The 33-year-old Canadian won the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in May in Texas for his
first PGA Tour title. He tied for fifth last week in the Barracuda Championship
in California.
"Today was pretty tricky with the wind, it was blowing pretty hard at times, so
my speed was great all day and stayed really patient," Pendrith said. "I didn't
really have many good looks through the first hour I would say of golf and was
able to stay patient and make a couple, made a couple longer ones, which was
nice."
NeSmith had a 64 in the morning before wind gusts topping 20 mph hit the course
in the afternoon and early evening.
Seeking his first PGA Tour victory, NeSmith lost in a playoff two weeks ago at
the ISCO Championship in Kentucky, his lone top-10 finish in 20 prior starts
this season. He has missed 11 cuts.
"Patience is key out here whether it be to win golf tournaments, to make cuts,
to try and keep your card to try and get in the top 30," NeSmith said. "I think
it pertains to each and every person out here. You never know when you're going
to get hot, you never know when good golf's coming. Just kind of try and be
patient, try and keep calmer heads and you never know what will happen."
First-round leader Jacob Bridgeman had a 70 to drop three strokes back at 9
under with Andrew Putnam (66). Doug Ghim (64), Lanto Griffin (66), Alex Smalley
(65) and Jhonattan Vegas (66) were 8 under.
"I felt like anything under par today was pretty good, especially in the
afternoon," said Bridgeman, one of the last players to tee off Friday. "The
wind was blowing really hard in the beginning of the round, caught a little bit
of a lull at the end, which was nice. But greens were kind of bumpy from all
the traffic. ... I stayed patient all day, didn't really have a whole lot of
great chances."
The event is the second-to-last tournament before the FedEx Cup playoffs begin,
with some players near the 70-player cutoff failing to advance to the weekend.
Nick Dunlap (64th in the standings), Luke List (71st) and defending champion
Lee Hodges (73rd) missed the cut.
___ AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
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