When Taylor Pendrith saw Geoff Ogilvy’s name on his phone a few weeks back, he was confused. He hadn’t had the best of seasons, so a spot playing on the International Team for the Presidents Cup wasn’t the reason for the call.
Instead, the Australian offered the Canadian a spot as a captain’s assistant.
“I saw a call from Geoff come in and I was definitely not expecting to make the team,” said Pendrith. “My golf game just hasn’t been as great as I hoped for. It was a huge goal of mine to make this team, so to be given this honour and to be a part of the squad again is going to be great.”
The 35-year-old has played in the past two Presidents Cups. He was a captain’s pick for captain Trevor Immelman’s team in 2022 and again for Mike Weir, the captain in 2024. Pendrith owns a record of 2-7-0.
“I feel like the leadership roles in past years are all guys I’ve idolized and looked up to in my career and now to be in that position where I look up to a lot of the players on this team, it’s going to be a fun experience,” stated the 35-year-old native of Richmond Hill, Ont.
Pendrith struggled to find some consistency this year on the PGA Tour.
He has two top-10 finishes, including a playoff loss to Steven Fisk at the ISCO Championship, as well as nine missed cuts. He finished the season in 89th place on the FedEx Cup standings and missed the playoffs.
He was also in 17th spot on the International Team’s rankings. The top six finishers automatically earn spots on the team while the next six are selected by the team captain. That will be done on Sept. 1. Corey Conners, who sits in seventh place, appears to be a lock, while Nick Taylor, in 13th, is on the bubble.
One of the first duties of the captain and his group is to figure out which players will be added. Pendrith said the team had a detailed conversation about which six would be selected but hadn’t finalized anything yet.
He was hoping to sway some views in favour of fellow Canadian Taylor, who has yet to play in a Presidents Cup.
“We’ve definitely had a big chat about captain’s picks and tried to nail down the perfect team for us going to Chicago,” Pendrith stated. “I’ve been lobbying for [Taylor] for sure.”
This isn’t the first time an active player has served as a captain’s assistant. Camillo Villegas has been in that role for the last two cups, and he continues to play regularly on the PGA Tour. However, most of the golfers-turned-captain’s-assistants are either retired or in the twilight of their careers. That’s why Pendrith’s selection was so surprising.
“My job is just to be there and be supportive and help the guys in any way I can to squeak out a point and hopefully get that win,” said Pendrith.
In addition to adding the Canadian to the captain’s assistant role, Ogilvy named South African Tim Clark. He played in three cups with a record of 6-7-2.
“Taylor and Tim each bring unique experiences and perspectives that will be invaluable to our team as we prepare for Medinah,” said Ogilvy, in a release. ”Tim has represented the International Team on some of the biggest stages and understands what it takes to compete in team golf, while Taylor represents both the present and future of our team, having played a key role in our recent Presidents Cup campaigns.”
Omitted from Ogilvy’s leadership group is Mike Weir, who captained the team in 2024. In the past few editions of the cup, the past captains have returned to share their experiences and guide players on the course. Trevor Immelman remains the only past captain to return as a captain’s assistant for next month’s championship, just as he did two years ago in Montreal.
Weir was reportedly not contacted by Ogilvy about playing any role on the 2026 team.
