[PHOTO: Sam Hodde]

Any true sports fan knows the sting of losing a Game 7. Toronto Maple Leafs loyalist Taylor Pendrith, however, erased the hurt of his squad losing a 2-1 heartbreaker to the Boston Bruins by winning his first PGA Tour title at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson in Texas thanks to a final-hole birdie and a ghastly stumble by Ben Kohles, who made the only bogey of the day on the par-5 18th hole.

Pendrith fashioned a five-birdie, one-bogey 67, the result of renewed confidence in his 9-degree Ping G430 LST driver.

“I feel like my putting has been really good all year,” said Pendrith, who uses a centre-shafted Odyssey Versa Jailbird 380 putter. “I usually drive it well and I haven’t been driving it great. The past few weeks I’ve found something with the driver. Got a new shaft [Accra’s TZ6]. I think I’m just swinging it better in general. But driving it well and not putting myself in awkward positions off the tee, which I had been earlier in the year. So, yeah, just feel comfortable with everything and now that the driver is clicking, it’s a nice feeling.”

Pendrith ranked fourth in driving distance at 291.4 metres (318.5 yards) off the tee while finding more than enough fairways, ranking T-27 in that category at 64.29 percent. He also ranked first in putts per green in regulation at 1.57.

A solid-working driver, a hot putter and a first PGA Tour win. Now about those Maple Leafs…

The clubs Taylor Pendrith used to win the 2024 CJ Cup Byron Nelson:

Ball: Srixon Z-Star Diamond

Driver: Ping G430 LST (Accra TZ6), 9 degrees

3-wood: Ping G430 Max, 15 degrees

7-wood: Ping G430 Max, 20.5 degrees

Irons (4-5): Srixon ZX5 Mk II; (6-9): Srixon ZX7 Mk II

Wedges: Cleveland ZipCore RTX6 (46, 52, 56, 60 degrees)

Putter: Odyssey Versa Jailbird 380 CS