Conners, Pendrith hold their own on 'challenging' Round 3 at U.S. Open

Corey Conners kept it together on a difficult day for the field at Pinehurst, finishing with a 1-over 71 Saturday in the third round of the U.S. Open.

Conners sat in a tie for ninth upon finishing his round, walking off the course at even-par for the weekend, seven shots behind leader Bryson DeChambeau.

“It was a really challenging day. You know, there was a lot of bright spots throughout the round but I made a few mistakes, got myself in some tricky spots. Yeah, it felt like it played really tough today,” Conners told TSN’s Bob Weeks.

“Had a little bit of a breeze, it was kind of in some different directions it was tricky to commit to and pick up on. But yeah, another tricky day. I’m happy with the way I battled at the end to keep myself in it.”

The highlight of Conners’ round came on the Par 4 third when the Listowel, Ont., native drove the green and calmly rolled in the eagle putt for the first big bird of the week on a Par 4 by any player in the field. But Conners sandwiched that eagle between a pair of bogeys, playing the first eight holes at even-par. A birdie on No. 9 and another on No. 10 got him to 2-under for the round, but Conners gave four shots back over the next five holes to sit at 2-over through 15.

He steadied himself with pars on the 16th and 17th before sinking a birdie try on 18 to get him back to even-par for the week.

Meanwhile, Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., was the low man for a Canadian on Saturday, finishing with an even-par 70 for the second straight day. He is tied for 12th heading into Sunday.

The 33-year-old played his first nine 2-under, carding a pair of birdies in his first five holes. But Pendrith gave those two shots back with back-to-back bogeys on the 11th and 12th. He made another bogey at 14 but bounced back with a birdie on the Par 3 15th to bring him back to par for Round 3.

“I played very nice again today, hit the ball really good, felt like I hit a lot of greens and I wasn’t really scrambling too much,” Pendrith told TSN’s Bob Weeks.

“There are some birdies to be made, but not many. So, when you get one, it feels awesome. But pars are really good, I think pars tomorrow would be good as well.”

Surrey B.C.’s Adam Svensson finished 4-over Saturday and closed out his round in a tie for 47th at 7-over for the week. Svensson shot an even 70 Friday to finish two shots clear of the cut line.

Watch final round coverage of the U.S. Open LIVE Sunday beginning at 9:00 a.m. ET/6:00 a.m. PT on TSN1, TSN3, TSN+ and the TSN App, or see multiple streams at once on the TSN.ca golf Multiplex.