Few players had more pressure on them going into the Presidents Cup at Royal Montreal than Corey Conners, with the Internationals star teeing it up on home soil.
Not only was Corey Conners looking to shine in in front of his own fans, but he was also playing for his country’s greatest male golfer in Mike Weir. And the 32-year-old was looking to make amends after losing all four of his matches at Quail Hollow two years ago in the previous Presidents Cup.
Unfortunately, a fifth defeat came on the opening day as USA produced a clean sweep. But one of the most memorable performances came on Friday as Conners and Mackenzie Hughes beat Wyndham Clark and Tony Finau 6&5 as the Internationals levelled the score.
Saturday proved to be much tougher. And by the time, his singles match with Finau reached the turn, the writing appeared to be on the wall for the Internationals. Conners however, had produced a superb fightback after going two down thru three holes.
Corey Conners opens up on playing for the Canadian crowds at the Presidents Cup
By the time they reached the 13th hole, Conners was three up. He would then hole a birdie putt from 40 feet to win yet another hole on his way to a 5&3 victory.
That 13th hole provided some special moments throughout the week. And speaking on The Smylie Show, Conners shared how incredible the atmosphere was on that part of the course.
“I think getting to partner up with Mack Hughes in the alternate shot, the foursomes on Friday, we were vibing, I don’t think either of us have ever played better golf,” he said.
“I think we were seven under thru 13 holes, and we closed out the match, could have been better. But I think the last shot that I hit there on 13 that day, a five iron around 212 maybe to the hole, and it came off the club, I actually hurt my hand club-twirling so hard. I don’t know whether I’ve ever really club-twirled, but I was walking off the tee like dang it, I scraped my hand there, it must have been a good club twirl. But it felt so good off the face, I knew it was going to be really good, and Mack poured it in to get us a point. That was pretty sweet.
“The same hole on Sunday, everyone in the stands singing O Canada, we had a 35 foot putt down a slope, curving a lot. They finished singing O Canada as I’m getting ready to step up to the ball, and the only thing going through my head is I am making this putt. I put it in, that was a really cool, special moment as well.”
Plenty of positives despite the defeat
The scoreline did not show it, and the US were still relatively comfortable in securing victory, but there were further promising signs for the Internationals. It was such an important hurdle for the likes of Conners and Taylor Pendrith to collect a couple of points given their records from Quail Hollow.
Winning at Medinah is going to be a monumental task given the US’s record in the competition. But the Internationals will surely feel that there were the kind of promising signs which should give them reason for optimism over the next two years.
Conners showed on a couple of occasions that he is one player who can go toe to toe with the US side.
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