THE PLAYERS CHAMPIONSHIP

March 13, 2022

Taylor Pendrith

TPC Sawgrass

Quick Quotes

Q. You had a little time off before that round. How did it feel, kind of up and down and all around but it's a good number when you finish up with it?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Yeah, obviously it was a long wait to play my second round, and it was kind of nice to have some time off. The last couple weeks for me have been long, hard weeks, so just tried to keep it low key and rest.

Yeah, today was good. I had a rough stretch. I think I had three three-putts in a row, missed a very short one, and just hit it to like 80 feet, I think, back-to-back holes and three-putted, which kind of stung a little bit. But hit a lot of really nice shots and made some birdies and hung in there.

The weather this morning pretty frosty. Did that have an effect on how far the ball was going, how you played your game.

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Yeah, honestly I was hitting balls on the range this morning and it was affecting it a little bit, not as much as I thought. Basically by the fourth hole I think the ball was flying about the same as usual for me.

Yeah, I didn't really find it too different. Obviously it was a little bit cool and the wind picked up kind of mid-round, which made it challenging, but yeah, it's a beautiful day now.

Q. Halfway through here and it's Sunday. What's the next 36 holes going to be like? What kind of game plan do you have?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Similar game plan, just I've been hitting a lot of drivers and been driving it really well. Hopefully just keep doing that and make some more putts. I think the wind is supposed to be similar this afternoon, might die down towards the end. It'll be tricky again, but just kind of plug away and hit a lot of greens and hopefully make a few.

Q. Are you comfortable out there? You look comfortable.

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Yeah, I feel pretty comfortable. The golf course I think really suits my game nicely. You need to be in the fairways here, and I've been trying it straight so far, so that's been nice, and the putter has been streaky, I guess. I've made some nice putts and also had a few three-putts. If I can just tidy that up a little bit, it should be fine.

Q. On the 2nd you hit an iron from the rough onto that green in two. There can't be too many guys in the field that can do things like that. Is that sort of what helps give you confidence around a place like this?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Yeah, I think this thick rough is kind of what I grew up with, I guess, in Canada. It feels very similar and it's long, and obviously a little bit of the moisture almost makes it easier to hit out of, but yeah, on 2, had a pretty decent lie and I was just trying to muscle a 5-iron as far as I could down there, and I don't know where it landed, probably short on the downslope and got up there, which was nice, and two-putted for birdie.

Q. With so many things sort of going on in the background of this tournament with the weather, has that sort of helped keep your mind maybe busy and taking it off that you're at such a big event in your rookie year and in contention?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Yeah, it feels weird having two full days off, but regardless of what happened today, I made it to my first weekend here, so that's pretty cool.

Yeah, it's an interesting -- I don't think I've ever had a tournament where I've had two full days off before my second round. It's kind of weird playing round 2 on a Sunday. It's going to be a long next couple days, and try to preserve my energy and keep playing well.

Q. Given everything that's happened weather-wise up until this point, how did you find the golf course was playing today?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: The course was great, yeah. The greens were still very receptive I would say obviously with all the rain. The rough seems to be a little easier to hit out of than the start of the week, but the greens are good. They've got some really nice speed to them and are rolling true. It's playing very -- it's challenging but it's very fair.

Q. When was the last time you played a professional event when it was this cold?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Well, on Korn Ferry TOUR everywhere, so lots of times last year, lots of times.

Q. Did you wear a tuque today?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Oh, yeah, I had a tuque on, and a long sleeve and a sweater.

Q. How many layers?

TAYLOR PENDRITH: Four layers, tuque, hand warmers. It was cold.