Tough long grass, huge crowds and constant media attention made the Canadian Open a good run-in for the US Open this weekend. Especially for Canadians competing for their national championship, with increased responsibilities.
Updated yesterday at 8:24 p.m.
Corey Conners was crowned top Canadian by finishing sixth in the competition, with a final round of 62, eight under par. He will be the highest ranked Canadian for the third major of the season.
The tournament will take place this year at the Country Club in Brookline, Massachusetts, a historic course outside of Boston. The USGA, which organizes the competition, is particularly fond of very long grass, undulating greens and narrow fairways.
“I think a lot of the things I was able to do this week will help me next week at Brookline,” Conners said last Sunday following his final round at St George’s. The course was good this week, a bit like a major tournament. You had to hit several different shots to keep the ball on the short turf. »
His result at the Canadian Open allowed him to climb to 30e rank in the world rankings, a career high for the 30-year-old golfer. It was his fourth top 10 this season, including a tie for sixth at the Masters.
Conners believes he can carry that pace to Brookline and get another good result there.
“I learned over the years how to manage my energy, how to prepare for the big tournaments, missing the weekend rounds in all three of his US Open appearances. I have a plan. I will try to follow it and have fun. »
Conners will lead a contingent that will be rounded out by Mackenzie Hughes, Roger Sloan, Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. The five PGA golfers will be joined by Ben Silverman, who plays on the Korn Ferry Tour.
Silverman will be at his first career major tournament.
The spotlight finally turned to the U.S. Open
The U.S. Golf Open isn’t the first major tournament held on American soil to be relegated to the background, lost amid chatter and innuendo on topics unrelated to birdies and the bogeys.
Golf was no longer the main concern on the eve of the 1990 PGA Championship in Shoal Creek, Alabama. The club’s founder had said he would not be pressured into accepting a black member. Corporate sponsors began pulling their TV ads, protests were staged, and Shoal Creek granted membership to a black insurance executive a week before the tournament.
Until the first tee shot, most of the news had focused on the controversy and its impact on golf, rather than Nick Faldo’s chances of winning his third Grand Slam of the year.
In 2003, activist Martha Burk requested that the Augusta National Club, site of the Masters Tournament, accept a woman as a member, to which club president Hootie Johnson replied that that day might come, but ” not at the point of a bayonet”.
Tiger Woods was aiming for a third consecutive Masters triumph, a feat that had never been achieved, and he was treated to 10 questions from reporters about social issues and chaos in Augusta. Then when Thursday rolled around, the rain canceled the opening round.
The difference is that the US Open has been relegated to the background due to developments for which its organizers are not responsible. This return to Brookline comes a week after the holding of a first tournament of the LIV Golf circuit, financed by a Saudi fund, in London.
Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson, the two leading defectors, are among 14 players suspended by the PGA Tour for signing up to the new Tour and competing in the US Open this weekend.
Mickelson defended his decision. Rory McIlroy said players who signed up for the 54-hole events with no qualification threshold and guaranteed money were “taking the easy way out”.
Mickelson received nothing but applause and support — not as loud as in previous years — during his practice rounds. He can expect a few renditions of “Happy Birthday” in his first round on Thursday, which will coincide with his 52e birthday.
Usually, the US Open requires more precision than power, as well as patience. However, more recent editions have favored hard hitters — Jon Rahm last year, Bryson DeChambeau on the Winged Foot course, Gary Woodland at Pebble Beach, as well as Brooks Koepka in consecutive years and Johnson at Oakmont.
Above all, this is an opportunity to make history and win the second oldest championship in golf. That should be enough to grab the public’s attention for four days.
“We’re here at a major tournament, we’re here to win the U.S. Open, and we’re here to beat everyone else who’s part of this golfing contingent, this great golfing contingent,” Collin said. Morikawa, winner of two career Grand Slams.
“That’s what it’s about. »