Corey Conners drove himself to a strong finish at the Open Championship on Sunday, posting a three-under 67 at Royal Birkdale. He ended the week in a four-way tie for 14th.
His final round moved him up 24 places on the leaderboard from the start of the day and was his best finish in any of the majors this season. Conners is one of just 22 players to make the cut in all four major championships.
“A little bit tidier today,” summed up Conners. “I was able to convert a few chances and make the saves when I needed to.”
The Canadian made just one bogey on his day, that coming at the par-4 fifth hole when he drove it into the native area and had to punch it back out to the fairway. He made three birdies on the back nine, rolling in putts from six feet on the 10th, 16 feet on the 11th and two-putting from 41 feet on the par-five 17th.
Surprisingly, Conners biggest struggle of the week was off the tee – usually one of his strengths. He sat 135th in the field for the week in Strokes Gained: Off The Tee, while he was 30th in Strokes Gained: Putting, where he has traditionally struggled.
“It’s just the unpredictability of the golf course with how firm it was,” stated Conners. “The strategy from the practice days with the different wind in the tournament rounds, strategy changed. You had a lot of options, but you had to be really committed to what you were doing. You could hit irons off a lot of tees. You could hit driver or other woods possibly. You just had to be really committed and hit great shots to keep it in play.”
Conners moved up six places to 58th spot in the FedEx Cup standings. He plans to play the PGA Tour stop in Minneapolis this week and in Detroit next week.
He also held his spot in the Presidents Cup standings, sitting in sixth.
The other Canadian in the field, Nick Taylor, fired a one-over 71 on Sunday and wound up the week in a tie for 59th. He took some positives away from the week that he hopes will stay with him as he winds up the PGA Tour season.
“I putted great,” he stated. “I’ve been putting nice for a little bit. That’s nice. I’m working on that and seeing some signs for that. I just wasn’t quite sharp enough off the tee. From there, it’s hard to hit it close. Just need to clean that up a little bit.”
Taylor dropped three spots in the FedEx Cup standings going to 59th from 56th. He will take this week off and then return to play in Detroit in two weeks.
FedEx Cup Standings
| Player | Last Week | This Week |
|---|---|---|
| Sudarshan Yellamaraju | 48 | 52 |
| Corey Conners | 64 | 58 |
| Nick Taylor | 56 | 59 |
| Taylor Pendrith | 79 | 80 |
| A.J. Ewart | 94 | 90 |
| Mackenzie Hughes | 118 | 110 |
| Ben Silverman | 129 | 131 |
| Adam Svensson | 170 | 174 |
| Adam Hadwin | 184 | 186 |
