Canada's Taylor Pendrith has share of clubhouse lead at RBC Canadian Open
Taylor Pendrith of Canada lines up his putt on the 9th hole in the first round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament in Caledon, Ont., Thursday, June 5, 2025. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Frank Gunn
CALEDON — Three of Canada's best golfers are in one of the marquee groups at the RBC Canadian Open and they're living up to that top billing.
Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., were in the morning wave together in Thursday's opening round. They were just ahead of a group that featured world No. 2 Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, Sweden's Ludwig Aberg and Luke Clanton of the United States.
Pendrith was tied with Americans Alex Smalley and Paul Peterson at 5-under 65 to hold the clubhouse lead by the early afternoon.
'It was great out there. I felt like the crowd really filled in on the back nine,' said Pendrith, standing within sight of the 18th green. 'Nick was making some birdies, and I was making some birdies. Mac holed a 6-iron on 5.
'So it was a lot of fun. The crowd was into it. Nice to see a lot of people out here on a rainy day. We had a blast out there, and we all played pretty well.'
Taylor, the 2023 winner of the men's national golf championship, was a shot back tied with a group for fourth. Hughes shot a 2-under 68 to sit in a tie with Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., among others.
'It was fun to feed off each other. It's better than going the other way, obviously,' said Taylor. 'Everyone played well.
'Mac probably could have made a couple more putts where he normally does, but for all of us to be under par, it was a good start.'
It was a far cry from their first appearances at the Canadian Open, when they were all amateurs getting to play in the national championship thanks to sponsor exemptions.
'It's cool to look back on. I think 2008 might have been my first Canadian Open, and I teed off at 7:30 at night because we had a long rain delay, and that was kind of my unique first start,' said Taylor. 'Fast forward 17 years, being the featured group, it's cool. It's what we dreamt about.'
Pendrith agreed with Taylor, adding that his first Canadian Open appearance at Royal Montreal Golf Club in 2014 was formative for him.
'Those experiences, I think, help me,' said Pendrith. 'It's one of the biggest events for us, and it's one that we look forward to all year.
'It's my fifth or sixth Canadian Open now, and it's nice to play in a group with those guys and have all the fans supporting us. It's the week that we look forward to every year.'
It's a tradition on the PGA Tour that all the Canadians in the field practice together on the Tuesday of tournament week. That camaraderie bled over into Thursday's round.
'To play a practice round with a couple buddies — excuse me, tournament round, it felt like a practice round is what I'm trying to say — It was a lot of fun,' said Taylor. 'We kept it loose. It was nice to see a few birdies go in.'
A thunderstorm Wednesday night and continued rain into the morning made the greens soft and accuracy important. It had a direct impact on spectators, too, as they had to seek cover in the mornings.
Fans who tried to come in the early afternoon struggled to find parking as one of two public parking lots at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley had to be closed because the heavy rainfall made the ground too soft to be driven on. The other parking lot quickly filled up, so Golf Canada encouraged spectators to use ride share or public drop-off if possible.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
John Chidley-Hill, The Canadian Press
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