Corey Conners shot 1-under 69 at Shinnecock Hills, tying his lowest U.S. Open opening round and building momentum after a two-hour fog delay forced him to finish Friday morning. With his second round starting at 7:45 a.m. ET, the Canadian is back in the mix af
For Corey Conners, the walk from one tee to the next at Shinnecock Hills has always carried its own kind of calm. But this U.S. Open week has demanded something more than routine—starting with the weather.
He got the chance to bounce back after an unusual stretch that included missing the cut at the RBC Canadian Open at home and. in 2025. withdrawing before the final round after hurting his wrist hitting a television cable. On Thursday, fog moved in and stayed long enough to interrupt his rhythm. Still. Conners fought through it. posted a 1-under 69 in his first round. and found himself tied for his lowest career first round at the U.S. Open—an opening that pulled him into contention.
The fog delay stretched the day by two hours on Thursday, forcing Conners to return Friday morning to finish the first round. He ended with ice-cold control on the closing holes: a par made with a slippery 10-footer on No. 17, then two-putting for par on 18.
His second round began at 7:45 a.m. ET / 4:45 a.m. PT, after a quick turnaround that felt almost surreal—like the tournament had hit pause mid-thought and restarted with no warning.
“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.”
On the course, the picture was clear. Conners opened with a bogey on Thursday but steadied himself quickly. He made two birdies in a stretch of four holes on his front nine to turn at even par. including a two-putt from 66 feet on the former hole and a 12-footer rolled in on the latter. Then he kept pressing on the back nine, adding two more birdies on Nos. 11 and 13 to reach a share of the lead.
The moment that tested him came at the par-4 14th, where he bogeyed after three putting from 56 feet. After that, he steered the ball into the house and didn’t let the mistake carry.
That balance matters because, for all his steadiness, majors have been the toughest stage for Conners. This U.S. Open is his eighth start, and he’s missed the cut five times. His best finish came in 2024 at Pinehurst. when he finished tied for ninth and earned his spot on Canada’s Olympic team in the process.
Still, the week has its own momentum. Conners heads into Friday with a reminder that even his rough stretches don’t change what he’s capable of when the ball-striking comes together—and with this one, it did.
He arrives with a season that has been defined so far by scarcity at the top: zero top-10 finishes heading into this tournament. even as he remains the top Canadian in the Official World Golf Ranking. Now. with the winds up on Thursday before calming down later. he’s aiming to keep focus through what he called “a demanding next few days.”.
“Ready for a challenge,” Conners said. “The winds were up (on Thursday) but got fortunate in the afternoon with things calming down later. It’ll be a demanding next few days and just have to keep your focus.”
The day wasn’t a clean sweep for everyone in the Canadian mix, either. Ben Silverman and Nick Taylor both completed their rounds on Thursday with 4-over 74s. Sudarshan Yellamaraju—making his second-career major start—opened with a 3-over 73. then made a birdie on his first hole of his second round early Friday morning.
Corey Conners U.S. Open Shinnecock Hills RBC Canadian Open fog delay Official World Golf Ranking Nick Taylor Ben Silverman Sudarshan Yellamaraju golf