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“That was huge,” said Pendrith, who had seven birdies to go along with the eagle. “That was big to pick up two shots to go to the 18th tee leading by two or three shots.”

It was also the third time that Pendrith eagled that hole on the week.

“That hole just sets up really good for me. Just tee it up high and hit it hard.

“It’s one of my favourite holes right now.”

No. 17 was also the pivotal hole for North Carolina’s Will Gordon, who, with Pendrith already in the clubhouse with his scorecard signed, was only two shots back with two holes to play when he came to that hole, which snakes from right to left along the North Saskatchewan River.

But Gordon hooked his tee shot into the left trees.

“I had a gap,” he said of what appeared to be a very minuscule opening. “I just pulled it and it hit a branch,” he said of his second shot which only advanced about 20 yards.

Still in the trees, Gordon then airmailed the green and ended up with a double bogey which effectively ended his chances.

“I hit a bad drive on No. 6 too… another Par 5. Two bad drives cost me four shots,” said Gordon.

Pendrith was on a roll coming into the 1932byBateman Open with a second and a tie for third in his previous two Mackenzie Tour appearances.

“It’s great to come through finally. I’ve been playing good golf recently. To get a win gives me a lot of confidence that I can win. I’ve been close before.

“(It’s a) big confidence boost that I can win. There were times in the past couple of years where I was injured that, yeah, you never know if you are good enough to play or to stay healthy,” said Pendrith, who has battled a torn tendon in his right elbow and a torn ligament in his right hand.