Conners' big day headlines first round for Canadians at U.S. Open

Corey Conners completed his opening round at the U.S. Open at 1-under par, putting him into a tie for ninth and just four strokes back of co-leaders Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy at the 124th playing of the U.S. Open.

Conners’ day got off to a rocky start with a double bogey on the second hole, but he was able to rebound quickly by sinking a 26-footer for eagle on the par-5 fifth. He would make just one more bogey on the day while adding a pair of birdies on the back-nine to finish under-par, just the 14th player to do so on Thursday. The Listowel, Ont., native will look to carry the momentum into Friday’s round, where he will look to make the cut at a U.S. Open for the first time in his career.

Taylor Pendrith had the best day among the Canadians outside of Conners with a 1-over 71. After trading a pair of birdies and bogeys to play the front at even-par, Pendrith managed just one dropped shot on the back to close out the opening round in a tie for 34th.

Fellow Canadians Adam Hadwin and Nick Taylor both turned in scorecards of 4-over 74’s after Pinehurst No. 2 showed its teeth in the opening round.

Hadwin made six bogeys, including on the first and second holes of his day. The back-nine wasn’t much kinder to the Moose Jaw, Sask., native, as he would also bogey holes 10 through 12. He did card two birdies on the day however, coming on the 5th and 18th, leaving him with some work to do in order to get back under the projected cutline before the conclusion of his round on Friday.

Taylor appeared to be starting well, as the 2023 RBC Canadian Open champion was 1-under through six. The promising start would not last, as a painful stretch of six bogeys over his next eight holes saw Taylor go to 4-over with just four to play. He would weather the storm with pars to close out the round, but the squandered hot start could prove costly for the 36-year-old to play his way into contention this weekend.

Adam Svensson did not fare much better, as his day would see him play the first two holes at 3-over. The Surrey, B.C., native would make his lone birdie of the day on the par-3 17th, but finished on Thursday with an opening round of 3-over 73.

Mackenzie Hughes would card a red number on his first hole of the tournament, but a double-bogey on the 13th would stop any momentum he had going in its tracks. Six consecutive pars before another bogey on the par-4 second left him at 2-over with six holes to play. He would eagle the fifth to bring his score back to even, before eventually bogeying two of the last three holes. His Thursday ended at 2-over on the round.

Amateur Ashton McCulloch made his major championship debut and posted a 5-over 75. His day began with four consecutive pars but played the next six holes at 5-over. He would make eagle to get back to 3-over with four to play, but the Michigan State junior would card bogeys on two of those holes to finish on a down note.

The second round begins Friday morning, and can be watched LIVE on TSN4, TSN.ca, and the TSN App, or you can stream multiple feeds at once with the TSN Multiplex.