LAS VEGAS — Taylor Pendrith was so winded it caused a four-hour delay and hit the field Friday at the Shriners Hospital Open. The Canadian only had to play six holes and held the lead before the second round was halted by darkness.
Pendrith, who had a quiet 10-under 61 on Thursday morning to start the tournament, now faces a long Saturday: 12 holes to complete the second round and as many holes in the third round as the autumn light allows.
He settled at 10 under – four pars, a birdie and a bogey in his short career – and led by one shot over Rico Hoey, who made a 15-foot eagle putt on his seventh and final hole.
Most impressive was Las Vegas resident Kurt Kitayama, who had a bogey-free 68 in gusts approaching 40 mph and temperatures that led to a closet of sweaters and ski caps.
Kitayama was part of an 8-under 134 group that included Doug Ghim, JJ Spaun and Davis Thompson, all of whom finished in the second round. It took Ghim eight holes to make his first par, and he finished with a hard-earned 70.
“A lot of golf with patience and knowing the value of par would be a little higher than normal,” Ghim said.
Friday’s start was delayed four hours when gusts approaching 50 mph made play difficult and caused enough safety concerns that PGA Tour officials decided to keep spectators away from TPC Summerlin. Their tickets would be honored on Saturday.
Once the players were allowed to play, it was not very easy to judge how much the ball was flying in the air and in the cool temperatures and how much roll there would be on the ground with the help of the flurry.
The lay was not very easy, and no one suffered as much as Joseph Bramlett. He had a 10-foot birdie putt on No. 1, his 10th hole in the second round, and five putts later he left the green with a three-bogey. Bramlett also missed a 30-inch birdie putt on Thursday.
Grayson Sigg has never worked so hard for a 69.
“I felt like I shot 62 today to be honest, and I only shot 2 under,” Sigg said. “It was pretty cold this morning. I think we were lucky they slowed it down a little bit. Man, it was windy from the first shot of the day to the last. It was a mental test today, and I did a great job with that.”
The best round of the day belonged to Pierceson Coody, who carded eight birdies in his round of 65 after opening with a 72. He was at 5-under 137.
Pendrith watched most of this from his hotel room while sleeping. When he finally got out in the afternoon, the wind was still strong and he was enjoying the challenge.
“I think it died down a little bit for us, but still some of the gusts are really strong that you’ve had time to putts. Putting is really difficult in the wind, I think,” he said. “It’s a very tough day, and I know those guys this morning had a bit of a tough time.”
The worst was forecast to continue, although strong winds were expected for at least part of Saturday.
Still to come was the 36-hole cut, which ranged between 3-under par and 2-under par.
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