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National Post
4 days ago
- Sport
- National Post
Corey Conners goes low at The Open, golfer uniquely celebrated in hometown
PORTRUSH, Nothern Ireland — Corey Conners' regular group at his Listowel, Ont. coffee spot likely hadn't even sat down for their morning cup when their pal was rolling in one last birdie at Royal Portrush on Saturday. More on the golfer's morning hang later. On Saturday, Conners gave Canadian golf fans a nice surprise to wake up to at Royal Portrush, catapulting up the leaderboard at the Open Championship by shooting a five-under 66. 'I felt like there were a few more scoring opportunities and I could be a little bit more aggressive with my approach shots,' Conners told the Toronto Sun after his round. After making the one-over cut on the number Friday night at 8:30 p.m., Conners and Germany's Matthias Schmid were back at it again first out of the gate on Saturday morning. The Canadian didn't waste any time, birdieing the first hole for one of six birdies on the day and leaving the course after a speedy 3-hour-and-50-minute round in a tie for 10th position, at least temporarily. 'I really hit a lot of quality shots today. I think there were a few more opportunities where the wind was helping you get it close to the pin locations,' he said. Conners also birdied his last hole of the day, rolling in a 42-footer after a rare mis-hit iron shot. Worried he might have too much club, and trying to take a little off his shot, Conners flared his approach to the right but caught a break as it banked back onto the putting surface. How good was he hitting it on Saturday? It was the only mis-hit Conners could remember. 'I was pretty solid the last couple of days,' he said. 'I can't really think of too many.' After some struggling with his putter over the first two days, Conners decided the answer was to lean even more heavily on his exquisite ball-striking and try to hit the ball a little closer to the hole. That might not sound like rocket science, but around Portrush's dangerous links caution is usually the best policy. But after discussions with his caddy Danny Sahl and swing coach Derek Ingram, and considering that even Conners is finding his iron play mightily impressive this week, the 33-year-old opted to get slightly more aggressive with his approach shots on Saturday. It paid off. 'It's a nice strength ot have for sure,' Conners said of his ball-striking. Conners has one more day of Open Championship golf ahead, then he will head back home to Listowel, two hours north-west of Toronto, where the global golf star spends his summers with wife Malory and the couple's two young children. 'It's a nice place. It's just home,' Conners said. 'It's where Mal and I grew up and we can live pretty simply. We built a nice house there and I enjoy reconnecting with family and friends that we are away from so many weeks a year.' This is the third summer the family has spent back in Ontario after living full time in Florida earlier in Conners' career. At last count, Listowel had a population of just under 10,000. Ten-thousand people and one famous golfer. 'Yeah, everybody knows me but I'm just a normal guy,' he said. 'And I really feel like a normal person there. A lot of the people in town and around the golf course have known me since I was growing up. I know they are really proud of me but they know me as just a simple person.' Conners says he spends most of his time at Listowel Golf Club, the course he grew up on, and at home where his children Reis and Tate have plenty of room to play. One day a few years ago, the golf club was short-staffed so the 24th ranked golfer in the world jumped behind the counter. Because, why not? 'I came out of retirement from the pro shop and hopped behind the desk and checked people in,' he recalled. Back to his golf game for minute. With a swing that has been the envy of many of his peers for years, but a putter that has at times held him back, I asked Conners if he has ever wanted to trade and be a lights-out putter rather than a great ball-striker. Conners cut the question off mid-sentence. 'I'd pick being in control of my ball from tee to green for sure,' he said. 'It keeps things as simple as possible out there when you're hitting a lot of fairways and a lot of greens. Not a ton of stress. It's nice to always be able to fall back on that.' According to the golfer, he has seen plenty of positives with his putter this season and he pointed to the first two rounds at the Masters in April. For two days at Augusta National, Conners says he wasn't striking the ball anywhere near his standards but stayed in the mix on the strength of his putter, even on some of the toughest greens he faced all year. His comments are backed up by statistics. For the season on the PGA Tour, Conners ranks 47th in strokes-gained-putting, picking up 0.223 strokes against the field on the greens. If he can keep it up, 2025 will mark the first season of his career where he finishes the year positive in that important category. 'I've seen a lot of bright spots with the putter this year,' he said. 'And that's happened more and more. It's frustrating to have some off days, but I've had plenty of good days that have given me relief.' Conners arrived at Portrush ranked 14th in the season-long FedEx standings. In previous majors this year, Conners has tied for 8th at the Masters and tied 19th at the PGA Championship, before being forced to withdraw from the U.S. Open with a wrist injury suffered in an Oakmont bunker. Away from the PGA tour, home in Listowel he's just a regular guy. Although that changed slightly a few weeks ago. 'I've got a statue of myself at the golf course now,' he said. 'It wasn't my idea for sure, but it's pretty cool.'
BBC News
15-07-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
The accidental golfer from Estonia making Open history
Richard Teder only started playing golf by chance after his auntie won some vouchers in a tennis competition. That was 14 years ago. And now, at the age of 20, he's making Open Championship history by becoming the first Estonian to play the sport's oldest amateur qualified in some style too, with a 70-yard chip-in to win a play-off in final qualifying at West Lancashire. "I've never lost in a play-off so I knew I was pretty safe," Teder laughed in the immediate shot - his second on a par-four hole - was an instant hit on social media and Teder himself can't stop watching it."I've watched it a million times," he told BBC Sport. "I watched it today. I just couldn't believe it went in." Final qualifying was held on 1 July so Teder has had a couple of weeks to get used to the fact he is teeing it up alongside 155 other players at Royal will tee off on Thursday at 10:42 BST alongside American Ryggs Johnston and Germany's Matthias Schmid."Being here is unbelievable – it's my favourite major by far, it's just awesome. It's the biggest tournament on the planet," he said."It's such an honour being the first Estonian be here and it will be loads of fun."There are only seven courses and around 4,000 players in Estonia and if his auntie hadn't won a tennis tournament when he was aged six, Teder accepts he would not be here this week."The prize was 10 vouchers," he said. "So it was completely random."By the age of 14 he was playing off scratch but said he only started gaining distance with his shots when he had a growth spurt at the age of he is undaunted by the prospect of the links golf challenge ahead, having grown up playing junior tournaments in Scotland and competed in three Amateur Championships at the seaside tracks of Royal St George's in Kent, Ballyliffin in Ireland and Hillside on the Southport coast."I'm trying to prove to myself that I belong here, which I believe I do," he said. "It's the six inches between the ears. I'm trying to gain experience and hopefully turn pro after this season."He narrowly missed out via the new global pathway last year but is chasing a spot on the DP World Tour's underling, the HotelPlanner Tour.A good showing this week will help that ambition as he soaks in the atmosphere on the Northern Irish there is one thing the man who learned English by "watching YouTube videos and stuff I picked up on social media" will be avoiding."I'm not having a kebab this week," he said referring to his celebratory meal after qualifying at West Lancashire."It was the only place that was open, I had two bites and threw it away, it wasn't very good."
Yahoo
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Griffin grabs second PGA title of season with win at Colonial
Ben Griffin of the United States celebrates with fiancée Dana Myeroff after winning the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club on Sunday. (Sam Hodde) Ben Griffin secured his second PGA Tour victory on Sunday at the Charles Schwab Challenge, holding off Germany's Matthias Schmid by a single stroke at the historic Colonial Country Club. Griffin, who finished at 12-under par after his final round one-over 72, maintained his composure during a challenging final round that tested players with gusty winds. Advertisement The victory comes just weeks after his breakthrough win at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, where he partnered with Andrew Novak to win the team event. The 29-year-old North Carolina native is enjoying an impressive career revival. After turning professional in 2018, Griffin stepped away from golf in 2021 to work as a mortgage loan officer due to financial pressures and burnout. But his return to professional golf through Q-school has now yielded success, with his two PGA Tour victories in 2025 and other top-10 finishes moving him to fifth in the FedEx Cup rankings. Griffin got off to a flying start with an eagle on the par-five first where he drained a 15-footer and he followed it with a birdie on the par-four second to build up a cushion. Advertisement He needed it with back-to-back bogeys on six and seven and he had two more bogeys on the back nine. Schmid, who finished at 11-under after his two-over 72, made a dramatic chip-in on the 18th hole from an awkward position near water to put the pressure on Griffin. But the American kept his composure to roll home a four-foot putt that secured victory. "So many people to thank, so many people in my corner, I'm very blessed," Griffin said after securing the victory. The German's runner-up finish earned him a spot in next week's Memorial tournament. "It wasn't a very good start, even though I don't think I deserved to be three-over after five or six holes," Schmid said of his final round, where he made double bogey on the par-four fifth "I hit a lot of quality shots actually." Advertisement American Bud Cauley finished third at nine-under 271, while world-class players Tommy Fleetwood and Scottie Scheffler tied for fourth at 272. The tournament at Colonial is one of the PGA Tour's oldest and most prestigious events, having begun in 1946 and having been played continuously, making it the longest-running non-major PGA event still held at its original site. World number one Scheffler never managed to get his normally trusty putting into full flow. "I had a really good weekend. I did some good stuff. Feel like I could have scored a little better today. Overall it was a really challenging day," Scheffler said. Advertisement "I was surprised at how firm they were still able to get these greens. It was impressive," said the Texan who had been aiming for a third straight win after his victory in last week's PGA Championship. sev/js
