Pendrith targeting RBC Canadian Open for return

TSN Senior Reporter

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Thank goodness for the NHL playoffs. It’s the only thing keeping Taylor Pendrith from climbing the walls these days.

Pendrith, a devoted Maple Leafs fan, has been trying to fill his time since the final round of the Players Championship in March when he suffered a broken rib. That put him on the shelf just as he was enjoying a stretch of good play, highlighted by a tie for 13th at TPC Sawgrass.

“It’s super frustrating,” he said from his Florida home. “I was coming off three nice weeks in a row and getting some momentum heading into the summer. Unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do about it right now.”

Injuries are nothing new to the Richmond Hill, Ont., product, who has battled wrist and shoulder ailments as well as one to his forearm. Then there was the unusual injury to his palm that prevented him from holding a golf club for four months.

“Nope, it sucks,” answered Pendrith when asked if he was used to being on the injury list. “It doesn’t get any easier any time you’re away from the game.”

The rib fracture was another rather obscure one. While warming up on the range ahead of the completion of the third round of the Players, Pendrith felt a twinge in his back. He assumed it was a muscle pull triggered by the miserable weather and went out to finish the round.

He headed for the physiotherapy trailer after walking off the 18th green to try and get some relief but when he woke up the next morning, found his back to be in more pain. Still, he managed a three-under 69. The next day, X-rays revealed the facture.

Since then, he’s been trying to keep busy and avoid any task where he has to rotate. That includes a simple cough or sneeze, which bring on the pain.

“I’ve really just been