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The man who took the lead into the weekend will take it into the final round of the Bermuda Championship. As Taylor Pendrith once again overpowered Port Royal Golf Course to the tune of 6-under 65. Sitting at 17-under through 54-holes, the long-hitting Canadian extended his lead to three-strokes over Danny Lee.
While the 400-yard drives will garner most of the attention, Pendrith’s putting can hardly be dismissed. Punctuated by an unlikely birdie from distance on the difficult par-3 16th, the 30-year-old ranks fourth in putts per green in regulation at 1.58.
Leading the field in birdies alongside Lee and eagles via two on the par-5 17th, he has simply been too much for Port Royal GC up to this point. If not for the early wave disadvantage on Thursday, who is to say Pendrith’s lead couldn’t be more.
Yet tomorrow the tournament officials have moved up the final round tee-times in anticipation of inclement weather. With conditions likely to mirror Thursday’s, if Pendrith is able to replicate his opening round of 1-under 70, he should collect his first PGA Tour title.
However, if he isn’t, Lee and Lucas Herbert are the likeliest candidates to play spoiler. With Lee having previous success on windy, coastal courses and Herbert capturing the Irish Open this past summer, they both have the game and gumption to claim victory despite the large deficit.
For the first-time this week, our friends at PointsBet Sportsbook have an odds-on favorite in Pendrith at –125. As for us, Hayden Buckley is effectively out of the tournament and Luke Donald remains two-strokes outside the top-10 as he didn’t quite have his best stuff on Saturday. Hopefully he can make up some ground in the wind as he was in the morning wave on Thursday and shouldn’t be surprised by anything.
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Updated Odds to Win (Odds Via PointsBet):
-125: Taylor Pendrith
+500: Danny Lee
+600: Lucas Herbert
+1200: Patrick Rodgers, Vincent Whaley
+4000: Peter Malnati
+5000: Justin Lower
+12500: Chad Ramey, Curtis Thompson, Garrick Higgo, Graeme McDowell, Patrick Flavin
Round 4 Plays (Odds Via PointsBet):
Graeme McDowell (+210 to finish inside the top-10):
He is currently in a tie for 10th, so if placed at a shop where ties are paid out in full, he essentially just needs to hold serve. The Northern Irishman should be able to do so as he was high on many lists coming into this week’s Bermuda Championship. Well-versed with what it takes to succeed in the most difficult conditions, McDowell’s ball-striking should hold up in tomorrow’s wind.
Tied for second in driving accuracy and tied for seventh in greens in regulation, the 42-year-old has carded rounds of 70-67-67 to sit at 9-under. He likely understands he won’t be able to add to his coastal course resume – boasting victories at Pebble Beach, Mayakoba, Corales, and Harbour Town – given the touchdown deficit to Pendrith, but a top-10 should be a nice consolation and an accomplishment to eye.
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