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If golf can drive a sane person to the edge, Pete Dye’s diabolical TPC Sawgrass will give you one last shove.
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Published Mar 12, 2026 • 2 minute read
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Taylor Pendrith of Canada plays a shot on the tenth hole during the first round of THE PLAYERS Championship in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Photo by Kevin C. Cox /Getty ImagesArticle content
PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. — Taylor Pendrith took a swing at his ball in a bush at the Players Championship on Thursday and had no idea where it went. Seconds later, it fell from the bush and plugged in the bunker right in front of him.
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Minutes after battling TPC Sawgrass in gusty winds and rain, Mackenzie Hughes stared begrudgingly at the calm sky and sun that broke through as he finished his opening round.
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If golf can drive a sane person to the edge, Pete Dye’s diabolical Florida masterpiece will give you one last shove.
“There’s not a lot of forgiveness off the tee,” Hughes said after shooting a two-over par 74 despite hitting just five fairways. “Once you’re out of position you’re just really trying hard to find a way to make par. Birdie seems like it’s out of the question.”
Fellow Canadian Pendrith agreed.
“It’s hard. If you’re out of position you’re likely going to make bogey,” he said 30 minutes later after matching Hughes’ score of 74. “You’ve got to get it on the fairways.”
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Tough conditions
The two Canadians got to their two-over tally in very different ways.
“I feel like I drove it very nicely. I had one drive that cost me probably three shots,” Pendrith said.
After opening with two birdies in his first three holes, Pendrith hit one errant tee shot at the 15th hole (his sixth hole of the day) made a triple bogey and spent the rest of the day trying to make up for it.
“I contemplated taking an unplayable (penalty) but would have had nothing really, and I thought I could get it out of the bush,” he said. “I hit it and I didn’t see where it went. It was stuck in the bush and then fell into the bunker and plugged. I compounded that hole with a three putt.”
Other than the 15th hole, Pendrith played the other 17 in a tidy one-under par. Unfortunately, all 18 count.
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For Hughes the entire day was a battle with both the conditions and with his tee shots.
“Given the nature of this golf course where if you’re a little off it will show that, and I definitely was,” Hughes said. “And given the conditions and how I felt, two-over par was an OK result.”
After the round, Hughes’ glance frequently returned to the sky as the sun threatened to break through the storm clouds.
Morning wave hit hard
“Anyone who played in the morning can tell you how hard it played, and to see the way it is right now is a little disheartening,” he added.
After a decade on tour, and with a short game that often gets him out of the trouble, Hughes is always prepared to get his hands dirty.
“It’s just the way I’m wired,” he said. “I’ve always been a grinder and fighter and I feel like when you have those days I’m pretty equipped to handle them. I was in some pretty tough spots today, but my whole life I’ve been battling like that. Obviously I like to have more days when I’m in control, but when you’re not in control you fight like crazy.”
From a pot bunker in the sky somewhere, Pete Dye is smiling.
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