(Pinehurst) In all the turmoil surrounding Bryson DeChambeau’s one-stroke victory following Rory McIlroy’s spectacular defeat in the final round of the United States Open on Sunday, Canadian Corey Conners stood out by playing an ordinary round on par with par.
The 32-year-old golfer, from Listowel, Ontario, shared ninth place in the cumulative standings with Americans Davis Thompson and Sam Burns. Each of them pocketed 502,391 US dollars (691,103 Canadian dollars).
Conners also got something priceless: a ticket to the Paris Olympics golf tournament.
He and Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., got confirmation that they will represent the maple leaf Monday morning when the world rankings were updated following the conclusion of the State Open -United.
Conners had to finish among the top 11 golfers at this major tournament to earn his Olympic berth. It may have helped his cause that the player he was chasing for the last spot available to a Canadian golfer, which belonged to Abbotsford’s Adam Hadwin, was left out of the weekend’s rounds at Pinehurst No. 2 .
Taylor was at 35e rank in the world rankings on Monday, followed by Conners (37e) and Hadwin (38e).
On the women’s side, Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., is on track to qualify for the women’s golf tournament at the Paris Olympics. She occupied the 14e world ranking after finishing tied for 34e position of the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday.
PHOTO DAN HAMILTON, USA TODAY SPORTS ARCHIVES
Corey Connors
The main draw for the women’s golf tournament in Paris will be completed next Monday, following the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major tournament of the season.
Conners and Henderson represented Canada at the Tokyo Games in 2020. Henderson also represented the country at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and ALENA Sharp of Hamilton were the others Canadian golfers who participated in the Olympic tournament in Tokyo.
Conners finished in 13the rank in the individual rankings, and the American Xander Schauffele won the gold medal.
On the women’s side, Henderson finished 29eand the American Nelly Korda had triumphed.
Conners also moved ahead of Hadwin in the international team rankings heading into the Presidents Cup. Taylor is sixth – which automatically qualifies him for the prestigious tournament between two teams of 12 golfers – while Conners is eighth and Hadwin, ninth.
Veteran Mike Weir will captain the international team for this biennial tournament, which will take place at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in September.