Taylor Pendrith birdied four of the last five holes on Saturday to head into the final round of the Rocket Mortgage Classic tied for the lead alongside Tony Finau.
Canada’s Pendrith, chasing a first PGA Tour title, started the day with a one-shot lead. He had eight birdies to overcome a pair of bogeys in a six-under-par 66 that pulled him level with Finau on 21-under-par 195 at Detroit Golf Club.
The leading duo were four shots clear of their nearest rival, Cameron Young, who followed up his course record-equalling 63 of Friday with a seven-under par 65 for 199.
The three South Africans in the field – Garrick Higgo, Dawie van der Walt and Dylan Frittelli – all missed the weekend cut.
“Obviously he made a ton of birdies and I finished the round with a lot of birdies, so it was fun,” Pendrith said of his pairing with Finau.
“We were going back and forth. Tony bombs it off the tee and I hit it far as well, so it was fun, kind of similar games I guess, and we attacked it very well.”
Finau, seeking his second title in as many weeks after his victory in the 3M Open last Sunday, had seven birdies, the first a 20-footer at the 2nd hole.
Birdies at the 3rd, 7th and 8th saw him make the turn at 18 under, and he added three more coming in at the 10th, 14th and 17th.
Finau had a chance to maintain a one-shot lead at the last hole, but couldn’t get his six-foot birdie putt to drop.
Pendrith, meanwhile, drained a nine-footer to cap a late surge that started with a 15-foot birdie at the 14th.
He followed with birdies at the 15th and 16th. Pendrith had gotten off to a quick start with a six-foot birdie at the 1st and rolled in a 16-footer at the 4th.
But his birdies at 6 and 8 were followed by bogeys at 9 and 13 that opened the door for Finau.
“It was nice,” Finau said of his round. “No bogeys up to this point on the scorecard in the tournament, which is nice.
“I think it’s a golf course that yields some birdies. You’ll have some looks, but to not make any mistakes to this point is nice and I think that’s the main reason I’ve found myself on top of the leaderboard.”
Finau said the back and forth with playing partner Pendrith was energising.
“It was nice to have that type of energy and looks like we’ll run it back tomorrow,” he said.
“I can’t say we pulled away from the guys – this is the type of golf course where someone can shoot eight, nine, 10 under, but if we put together a good round tomorrow, it might be a two-man race and I’m looking forward to the challenge again.”
Young certainly thought they would be hard to catch.
“I would love to be closer,” he said. “Those guys are playing some great golf … we’ll be chasing all day tomorrow.”
© Agence France-Presse
