PGA Championship: Corey Conners turns Canadian clock back 20 years

For the primary time in 20 years, a Canadian has a share of the 36-hole lead at a significant championship.

Corey Conners, a local of Listowel, Ontario, Canada, shot 67 on Thursday and a 68 on Friday to take a seat at 5-under for the PGA Championship at Oak Hill.

The Canadian is tied atop the leaderboard with Scottie Scheffler and Viktor Hovland; Conners and Scheffler tee off at 2:50 p.m. Saturday within the remaining pairing.

On condition that Oak Hill sits simply 90 miles from the Canadian border, Conners has acquired fairly the assist on the grounds this week.

“Plenty of Canadian cheers [out here],” Conners mentioned after his second spherical. “Being so near the Canadian border, I feel a lot of followers got here down from Canada. I felt fairly particular to have lots of assist on the market.”

Conners has leaned on his assist to vault himself to the highest of the leaderboard.

Curiously, in response to Justin Ray of The Athletic, Conners shares some statistical similarities to Jason Dufner’s 2013 season.

Dufner gained the 2013 PGA Championship at Oak Hill:

To win at Oak Hill, gamers must put themselves able to hit the inexperienced. It’s a ball-striking golf course.

By 36 holes, Conners ranks seventh in strokes gained: approaching the inexperienced as he has hit 24-of-36 greens. He has made 9 birdies up to now.

Nonetheless, of the 12 greens he missed, Conners has managed to stand up and down eight instances. His scrambling proportion ranks tied for eleventh within the discipline, thus proving his brief sport has what it takes to win a significant.

Picture by Darren Carroll/PGA of America through Getty Pictures

The pivotal juncture of his second spherical got here on the seventeenth and 18th holes, two of Oak Hill’s more durable par fours.

At 17, Conners pushed his tee shot proper, hit his second in need of the inexperienced, and relied on his nifty brief sport to save lots of his par.

Conners once more missed the golf green proper on the subsequent gap as he drove into one of many deep bunkers 300 yards from the tee.

He was pressured to layup, and he hit his second shot 84 yards in need of the inexperienced and into the tough. It appeared like he would drop a shot at 18, however his third landed ten ft from the pin, the place he promptly sunk his par putt earlier than making the flip.

Conners ranks 4th in strokes gained placing among the many discipline, another excuse he’s contending at Oak Hill.

The Canadian has the elements to win at Oak Hill. Now he has to execute.