(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 from Listowel, Ont., 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 needed to finish among the top 11 golfers at this major 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 ranked 35th in the world rankings on Monday, followed by Conners (37th) and Hadwin (38th).
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 was ranked No. 14 in the world after finishing tied for 34th at the Meijer LPGA Classic on Sunday.
The main draw for the women’s golf tournament in Paris will be completed next Monday, after the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship, the third major tournament of the season.
Conners and Henderson represented Canada at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Henderson also represented the country at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Games. 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 13th in the individual rankings, and American Xander Schauffele won the gold medal.
On the women’s side, Henderson finished 29th, and American Nelly Korda triumphed.
Conners also moved ahead of Hadwin in the international team rankings for 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 is 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.
