Conners vaults up leaderboard with impressive third round at Players Championship

On a day better suited for flying kites than playing golf, Corey Conners made a giant leap up the leaderboard at the Players Championship on the strength of a six-under 66.

With winds blowing up to 50 kilometres an hour, keeping the ball online in the air and on the greens became a difficult task. Only seven golfers posted a score in the 60s, while five shot rounds in the 80s.

Yet Conners made seven birdies against just a single bogey over TPC Sawgrass, and when the round finished, he was tied for fifth.

“It feels really great. I left some shots out there the first couple of days, so it was nice to have a really solid round today,” said Conners, who posted scores of 71 in the two opening rounds. “Hopefully I can get myself back into the mix depending on what the guys who are getting on the course [later in the day] do.”

The Canadian was in the seventh group of the day to tee off and played the first few holes in less windy conditions, making birdies on the second and third. By the time he reached the sixth, however, the wind was howling, water hazards had white caps and players were trying to navigate their way through it.

Conners rolled in a 10-footer on six for a birdie and added another one on the par-5 ninth. His only blemish on the scorecard came on the par-3 eighth where he failed to get up and down out of a greenside bunker. Birdies on 12,15 and 18 finished up the stellar round.

“It was really hard,” Conners added. “I hit a really solid drive on the 16th hole, the par-5 you’re looking to take advantage of, and it might have gone 240 yards. That might sound good to some players but I try to hit it a little bit further than that.

“It was really tough. Even the downwind balls, controlling your ball. You just had to really strike it solid today or the wind was going to wreak havoc on you.”

Conners went to the first tee on Saturday with a plan of being fully committed to every shot. With his caddie Danny Sahl continuing to remind him of that before every swing, they executed to near perfection, judging the wind and picking a target, and then making a decision.

He also praised his putting as another key to the day as he rolled in 97 feet of putts. Those that missed only did so by small margins, leaving easy follow-ups. A lot of praise for his work on the greens went to a new club that he put in the bag before last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational.

“I have a lot of confidence in the new putter,” he said of his centre-shafted PING mallet-style. “I left some out there the first couple of days but it was really nice to hole a bunch today. I made a lot of key putts to keep the momentum going, a lot of par-saving putts and then the birdies when I had the opportunities.”

Conners has a habit of coming up on his putts, which prevented clean contact. The new putter has the shaft set back from the face a small way to correct that. That tiny adjustment has already shown great benefits as Conners finished third at last week’s event, tying for 13th in Strokes Gained: Putting. He was second in Strokes Gained: Putting for Saturday’s round and is 15th for the week. 

The wind is expected to continue and grow in intensity into Sunday, bringing with it the possibilities of thunderstorms. Officials moved tee times up with play starting at 8 a.m. ET, off both the first and 10th tees.

For Conners, that won’t change any of his plans.

“More of the same thoughts I had today,” he stated. “Just try to trust in the game. Stick to the plan and be really committed out there.”

Taylor Pendrith, who played in the worst of the winds, battled to a one-over 73. He called the conditions the most difficult he’s faced on the PGA Tour.

“That was really, really challenging,” said the Richmond Hill, Ont., native. “I don’t think I hit a green until the eighth. It’s tough. It was a grind, every aspect of it.”

He sits in a tie for 22nd spot heading to the final round.

Conners will tee off at 9:50 with Alex Smalley and Rory McIlroy while Pendrith will begin at 8:33 with Tom Hoge and Taylor Moore.

TSN will start coverage at 10 a.m., while TSN+ will start at 8 a.m. All times Eastern.