Taylor Pendrith took two weeks off after the Presidents Cup and didn’t miss a beat, matching his career-low on the PGA Tour with a 10-under 61 that gave him a three-shot lead in the Shriners Children’s Open on Thursday in Las Vegas.

Pendrith missed only one fairway and one green at the TPC Summerlin, both on the same hole. The Canadian pulled his tee shot on the 18th hole — his ninth — had to pitch out sideways, hit wedge to 7 feet and saved his par.

The rest was a steady diet of big drives, a lot of wedges and good putting. His only disappointment was the par-5 ninth, his final hole. He had only 200 yards into the green and knew an eagle would give him a 59.

“Tried to be aggressive and hit a good shot and just didn’t catch all of it, and came up short right in the bunker,” Pendrith said.

He blasted out to 12 feet and missed the putt, along with a chance to tie the course record at Summerlin last set by Rod Pampling in 2017.

Pendrith also shot a 61 in the Bermuda Championship three years ago.

Bud Cauley and Matti Schmid were among 10 players at 7-under 64. The first round was suspended by darkness, the second straight week the opening round could not be completed despite no weather delays. Seven players did not finish.

Pendrith had the advantage of playing in the morning, before the wind began to increase. The forecast is for the strongest wind today, upward of 20 mph.

Tom Kim, the two-time defending champion, had to make five birdies over the last 11 holes to scratch out a 69. That leaves him eight shots behind in his bid to become the first player since Steve Stricker at the John Deere Classic (2009-11) to win the same PGA Tour event three straight times.

Matt McCarty, the Korn Ferry Tour grad who won the inaugural Black Desert Championship in Utah last week, failed to birdie any of the three par 5s and shot 71.

Schmid was coming off a 62 in the final round in Utah to finish fifth, moving him off the bubble at No. 120 to No. 105 in the FedEx Cup Fall. A big part of this stretch of the PGA Tour is for players to finish in the top 125 to secure a full card for 2025.

Pendrith knows that feeling.

He was at No. 123 in the FedEx Cup last year when he came to Las Vegas, and he tied for third to effectively sew up his card for the following season. He went on to win in Dallas at the CJ Cup Byron Nelson for his first PGA Tour title, and he made it to the Tour Championship.

“I know it’s an important time of year for a lot of guys and I’ve been there, for sure,” Pendrith said. “It’s stressful. But it’s a different feeling for me, obviously already locked up for next year. It’s a different feeling I guess out there playing. But I really enjoy this place.”

Pendrith also was picked for the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal, posting a 2-3 record and going 2-1 in team play alongside Adam Scott. The plan was to take a short break, but that changed when Hurricane Milton cut across Florida.

“I think I played maybe three times since the Presidents Cup, and then was planning on practicing and everything was closed,” Pendrith said. His coach joined him in Las Vegas for some quality work early in the week.

“I feel rested and excited to play,” Pendrith said. “I didn’t really expect a 10 under, I would say. I thought I would be a little bit more rusty than that. Obviously, thrilled, just got to keep getting back into the rhythm of things and the next few days.”

Ashleigh Buhai of South Africa, Hannah Green of Australia, and Jenny Shin of South Korea each shot 8-under 64s to top the leaderboard after the first round of the BMW Ladies Championship in Paju, South Korea.

The field is loaded with eight of the LPGA Tour’s top 10 players. It also includes 17 of the 18 winners this season on the tour. About the only key player missing is American Kelly Korda who withdrew with a neck injury.

Julien Guerrier made nine birdies on his first 11 holes en route to an 10-under 62 opening round in the Andalucia Masters in San Roque, Spain.

Guerrier also birdied the 15th to take a one-shot lead over Englishman Dan Brown, who made two eagles and five birdies.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Virginia men’s basketball coach Tony Bennett is retiring effective immediately, a stunning, abrupt departure on the eve of the start of the season.

The program said Bennett, 55, will announce his retirement at a news conference today. No reasons were given for his decision, which comes months after signing a contract extension to keep him in the job through at least 2030.

Virginia opens the season on Nov. 6 at home against Campbell.

Bennett led the Cavaliers to the national title in 2019. In his 15 seasons as the coach in Charlottesville, he made 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. He went 364-136 at Virginia, a tenure that included two ACC Tournament titles and six regular-season conference championships. He was voted national coach of the year three times.

NBA

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein will miss at least a month after sustaining a small, non-displaced fracture in his left hand during a preseason game in Denver.

The Thunder said Hartenstein, who was hurt in Tuesday’s game, will be re-evaluated in 5-6 weeks.

The Thunder added the 7-foot, 250-pound Hartenstein as a free agent in the offseason to help them with rebounding and their lack of bulk, two of their few weaknesses last season as they earned the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs. He averaged 8.5 points, 7.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists last season for the New York Knicks.

Jurisprudence

A former Olympic snowboarder for Canada was charged with running a drug trafficking ring that shipped vast amounts of cocaine across the Americas and killed several people, authorities said.

The FBI is offering a $50,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and extradition of Ryan James Wedding, a Canadian citizen who was living in Mexico and is considered a fugitive. The 43-year-old is charged in the United States with running a criminal enterprise, murder, conspiring to distribute cocaine and other crimes, U.S. prosecutors said.

U.S. authorities said Wedding’s group moved large shipments of cocaine from Colombia through Mexico and California to Canada and other locations in the United States using long-haul semi-trucks. Wedding, a former Olympic snowboarder who also faces years-old charges in Canada, is one of 16 people charged in connection with a ring that moved 60 tons of cocaine a year, and four of them remain fugitives, said Martin Estrada, U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles.

“He chose to become a major drug trafficker and he chose to become a killer,” Estrada told reporters.

Krysti Hawkins, FBI special agent in charge in Los Angeles, said a dozen people were arrested in Florida, Michigan, Canada, Colombia and Mexico in connection with the case.

U.S. authorities allege the group killed two members of a family in Canada in retaliation for a stolen drug shipment in what officials there said was a case of mistaken identity, and at least one other person. Authorities said they seized cocaine, weapons, ammunition, cash and more than $3 million in cryptocurrency in connection with their investigation.

Wedding competed for Canada in the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, authorities said.

TENNIS

With an eye on the Davis Cup, Rafael Nadal said he was pleased with his performance despite losing 6-3, 6-3 to Carlos Alcaraz at the Six Kings Slam in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Jannik Sinner beat Novak Djokovic 6-2, 6-7 (0), 6-4 in the other semifinal at the exhibition event that awards money but no ATP ranking points and is Saudi Arabia’s latest foray into tennis.

The match against Alcaraz was Nadal’s first since he announced last week that he would be retiring after playing for Spain in the Davis Cup next month. Nadal and Alcaraz played doubles together at the Paris Games and could team up again for the Davis Cup.

“I have the Davis Cup in front (of me) in a month so every day is an opportunity to be better and better and be ready for this final tournament of my tennis career,” Nadal said. “I want to try my best to be ready for that and help the team in some way.”

Thursday’s match was the first contest for Nadal since his exit at the Paris Olympics.

Nadal will play Djokovic on Saturday in a third-place match before Sinner faces Alcaraz.

Iga Swiatek is hiring Wim Fissette to be her new coach, announcing via social media that she is bringing aboard someone who has worked with a long list of top players that includes Naomi Osaka, Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka.

“I’m excited and motivated to start a new chapter,” posted the No. 1-ranked Swiatek, who parted ways with Tomasz Wiktorowski two weeks ago after three years together.