Corey Conners Open Leaderboard Strategy
Conners Channels “Nothing to Lose” Mentality for Stellar Open Championship Round
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Canadian Climbs Leaderboard with impressive 5-Under 66
Royal Troon, Scotland – Corey Conners, the lone Canadian to conquer the cut at this year’s Open Championship, unleashed a performance brimming with the “nothing to lose” spirit on Saturday, propelling himself 41 spots up the leaderboard. After a challenging opening two days, the 32-year-old from listowel, Ontario, fired a blistering 5-under 66, positioning himself firmly inside the top 10 with much of the field yet to complete their rounds.He now sits at 4-under par for the prestigious tournament.
Putting Woes Vanish as Conners Finds Form
Conners had openly admitted to struggling with the speed of the greens through the first 36 holes, a common pitfall for many players unaccustomed to the firm, fast conditions of links golf.The greens here are reportedly running around an 11 on the stimpmeter, a stark contrast to the faster 15s seen at Oakmont for the U.S. Open. However, a simple adjustment made on Saturday proved transformative. Conners putted phenomenally, gaining strokes on the greens and ranking 14th in strokes gained: putting for the day.
“It felt like I finally got a handle on the speed,” Conners commented after his round. “Just a small tweak, but it made a world of difference.I was leaving too many short the first couple of days, and today, they were rolling true.”
Ball Striking Back to Peak Performance
beyond his rediscovered putting touch, Conners also returned to his signature, consistent form off the tee and with his ball striking. This resurgence in all facets of his game culminated in him leading the field in strokes gained: total for the day. His 5-under effort was the early low round of the day, trailing only Scottie Scheffler’s 64 from Friday by a mere two strokes.
A Round of Momentum and Near Perfection
The Canadian’s round was a masterclass in momentum building. He opened with a birdie on the first hole, followed by consecutive birdies on Nos. 7 and 8. A missed short par putt on the ninth resulted in a bogey, but Conners quickly regained his stride, birdying the par-5 10th. Further birdies on the 12th and a breathtaking 42-foot bomb on his closing hole capped off a remarkable day.
The scorecard could have been even more impressive, as Conners narrowly missed three birdie putts from under 10 feet and another from 15 feet on the 15th. Still, the overall performance was a significant statement of intent.
A Consistent Major Contender
Conners, widely regarded as Canada’s top-ranked male golfer, has established himself as a consistent presence on major championship leaderboards throughout 2025. He is one of only 18 players to have made the cut at all four majors this year, including a top-10 finish at the Masters.His promising run at the U.S. Open was unfortunately cut short by a wrist injury, a concern he has since put behind him.
“I felt things were back to normal with my wrist coming into this week,” Conners had shared with Sportsnet prior to the Open. “I’m striking the ball well,and today felt like the culmination of that.”
With his putter firing and his ball-striking confidence restored, Corey Conners is now perfectly poised to make a significant charge in the final round of the Open Championship.