PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – He is as big a comeback story as you will find in sport. McMurray native Brendon Todd has gone from missing 43 cuts in 55 starts to finishing in the Tour Championship in 2020.
“His game just left him several years ago,” said Fan Golf Show host Mike Duderich. “He could not hit it out of his shadow, had no idea where it was going. He dropped to like 13-hundredth in the world. He was ready to quit.”
Then Todd was talked into rebuilding his game and went from being off tour, where he made $14, 925 in 2017 to a slow climb that culminated into a pair of wins and $3,390,258 in the 2019-20 season.
Todd had 11 top 25 finishes including at the PGA Championship, the Tour Championship and the US Open. Beyond the success, Duderich said he’s as good a guy as you would ever want to meet.
“I had him on my show after he won the first time,” Duderich said. “I told him what time (7a EST) and he said ‘Yeah, sure’. Then he called me back and said we are having a little celebration on Friday night, I’m not sure how good I will be on Saturday morning.”
But not only did he get up to do the interview, but was able to tell his story to his hometown and Duderich said he talked like they were life-long friends.
What chances would the 35-year-old have in winning the Masters, against the best players in the world?
“He’s not the longest guy in the world, but he hits a lot of fairways,” Duderich said. “He hits a lot of greens. You do that at a place like Augusta, you are going to be in the hunt somewhere.”
“Can he do that in the pressure of playing in the Masters? We will find out.”
So if you are looking for a rooting interest, think about Todd. He’s in the final pairing of the first round on Thursday. Duderich said a lot of his peers root for him.