SOUTHAMPTON, N.Y. — Corey Conners was ready to bounce back.
Canada’s top-ranked male golfer had an uncharacteristic week at home at the RBC Canadian Open, where he missed the cut. He also had an odd U.S. Open in 2025, withdrawing before the final round after hurting his wrist hitting a television cable.
So, one of the steadiest golfers on the planet did what he does best Thursday – and into Friday — at this year’s U.S. Open: he ball-struck his way into the mix at a major.
Conners shot a 1-under 69 to open the week at Shinnecock Hills, tied for his lowest career first round at the U.S. Open. With a two-hour fog delay Thursday, Conners was forced to return Friday morning to wrap up his first round. He rolled in a slippery 10-footer for par on No. 17 and then two-putted for par on 18.
“It was great,” Conners said Friday between rounds en route to eating his second breakfast of the morning. “Nice to have made the putt this morning. Felt great. Feel like I hit the ball well and kept it in position and tried to limit the stress out there.”
Conners was in second at one point Friday as he made the turn in his second round but struggled down the stretch with the putter, missing a four-footer on No. 4, a six-footer on No. 5, another four-footer on No. 6 and a final six-footer on No. 9.
Conners said the greens at Shinnecock Hills are “a little slower” than what they’re used to on the PGA Tour and sometimes with those faster greens you can “guide” your ball to the hole. That’s not been the case at the U.S. Open, with high winds through the first two days.
“I’m certainly not wishing they are going to speed these up too much with the undulations but sometimes (with) the slower speeds, you have to remember to give it a hit,” Conners said.
Conners shot a 2-over 72 in his second round and will be eight back of the lead held by Wyndham Clark heading into the weekend at Shinnecock Hills.
In Conners’ first round Thursday, he opened with a bogey but bounced back nicely with two birdies in a stretch of four holes on his front nine to make the turn at even — two-putting from 66 feet on the former and rolling in a 12-footer on the latter.
Conners then added two more birdies, on Nos. 11 and 13, and had a share of the lead at that point. He bogeyed the par-4 14th after three-putting from 56 feet but steered it into the house after that.
Conners had a solid ball-striking effort in his second round through Friday morning, gaining shots to the field in strokes gained: off the tee, approach, and short game. “You throw all the technique stuff out the window” while playing in the U.S. Open elements, he said, adding he’s been leaning on rhythm feel, and intuition to execute on his gameplan.
The putter has been the problem club, however, with Conners losing nearly three shots to the field with the flat stick in his second round.
“I feel like I did a good job of getting it to the hole to start the tournament in Round 1. It left me on the second nine (of the second round). All the putts could have easily fallen in. A couple, I certainly would have liked over but it wasn’t like I was given them no chance,” Conners said.
Still, Conners will find the weekend at the U.S. Open for — somewhat surprisingly — just the third time in his career. Given his consistency, it’s odd to see how poorly he’s played this particular major.
This is his eighth start at the U.S. Open and he has missed the cut five times on top of last years’ withdrawal. His best finish came in 2024 at Pinehurst, where he ended up tied for ninth — locking up his spot on Canada’s Olympic team in the process.
It’s been a curious season for Conners to this point, with zero top-10 finishes. But he remains the top Canadian in the Official World Golf Ranking and has now given himself a chance to notch one of his best results of the season on a major stage.
The best finish by a Canadian at the U.S. Open was Dave Barr in 1985, when he was tied for second. Before Conners’ effort at Pinehurst two years’ ago, the last time a Canadian finished in the top 10 of the U.S. Open was Adam Hadwin, in 2022.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju also played Friday morning — in his second career major start — and shot a 2-over 72 after making bogey on two of his last four holes. That ended up being his ultimate undoing as he finished at 5-over and missed the cut by one.
Ben Silverman and Nick Taylor both shot 4-over 74 on Thursday and also did not find the weekend. Silverman shot another 4-over in the second round while Taylor gave it a valiant push late Friday, making two birdies in his final five holes. He also had a 14-foot birdie attempt on his penultimate hole but missed it by just inches. Taylor, who recorded his best-career major result at last year’s U.S. Open, finished at 5 over.
