Taylor paired with Pendrith, Hughes for first two rounds of Canadian Open
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2023 RBC Canadian Open winner Nick Taylor has been grouped with fellow countrymen Taylor Pendrith and Mackenzie Hughes for the tournament's opening two rounds from TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley.
Taylor, coming off a T4 at the Memorial last week, became the first Canadian to win at the national open since Pat Fletcher in 1954.
Hailing from Abbotsford, B.C., Taylor defeated Tommy Fleetwood on the fourth playoff hole in 2023 by way of a 72-foot putt for eagle at Toronto's Oakdale Country Club. He returned to the tournament as the defending champion in 2024, but missed the cut at 3-over through 36 holes.
“It’s nice to come back here, have all of these good memories,” Taylor told TSN’s Bob Weeks ahead of the start of this year's tournament. “Maybe not have the pressure of defending this year, so I’m looking forward to it again.”
He is also the only Canadian to record a victory on the PGA TOUR this season after winning at the Sony Open in Hawaii.
Pendrith comes into the 2025 Canadian Open coming off of back-to-back strong showings over his past two starts.
The Richmond Hill, Ont. native finished T5 at the PGA Championship for his first career top-10 finish at a major before just missing out on his fifth top-10 of the season at the Memorial.
A one-time winner of the PGA TOUR, Pendrith enjoyed his best-ever finish at last year's Canadian Open in four career stars, a tie for 21st.
Hughes returns to the Canadian Open for the ninth time after a T7 showing last year in his hometown of Hamilton, Ont.
Last year marked his best showing at the national open, narrowly beating out his tie for eighth in 2018.
The 34-year-old has struggled with consistency this year, earning three top 10s but missing six cuts in 16 starts. Hughes had a close call at the Myrtle Beach Classic last month, but lost to Ryan Fox at the first playoff hole.
The trio of Canadians will begin their round on Thursday off the tenth tee at 7:29 a.m. ET.