Brooks Koepka captured his third PGA Championship in dominating fashion this past weekend. But Canada’s golf fans spent the event sweating out the results of Corey Conners, who sought to become the first Canadian man to win a major championship since Mike Weir at the Masters two decades ago.
His backers at Ontario sportsbooks certainly had reason to be excited.
Conners lingered near the top of the leaderboard all weekend long — finishing the second round with a share of the 36-hole lead, and Round 3 in a tie for second. But after going out in the penultimate group in Sunday’s final round, Conners shot a disappointing 5-over par to fall to a tie for 12th.
Ironically, Conner’s struggles came on by far the easiest scoring day during the tumultuous, weather-plagued tournament. Perhaps Conners felt more at home in the cold, wet conditions. After all, he grew up in Listowel, Ontario — just a few hundred kilometres north of Oak Hill Country Club.
Nevertheless, it was another respectable performance for Canada’s best male golfer, who won his second PGA event earlier this spring. He has put together an impressive, albeit inconsistent, major championship resume, highlighted by three top-10 finishes at The Masters.
Coming off another successful event, BetOntario takes a look at Conners’ odds for the year’s remaining majors, namely the U.S. Open in June and The Open in July.
US Open: June 15-18, Los Angeles Country Club
Corey Conners is priced at +5500 at Caesars sportsbook Ontario to win the 123rd U.S. Open at the Los Angeles Country Club. But before locking in that wager, it’s worth noting his abysmal performance at previous U.S. Opens.
In fact, Conners hasn’t made a single cut in his four previous trips to America’s annual open championship.
This is a problem. The USGA is known for setting up its rotation of courses to play in a similar fashion each year — that is, long and tough. That said, Conners just showed he is capable of competing on such a track with his performance over the weekend at Oak Hill.
The Open Championship: July 20-23, Royal Liverpool
Conners has performed much better at the year’s final major, The Open Championship. He has recorded finishes of T28 and T15 the previous two years in the event that’s also called the British Open.
He also has more attractive odds here, at +9000 on the BetMGM Ontario sportsbook.
This year, The Open will be return to Royal Liverpool for the first time since 2014, when Rory McIlroy defeated Rickie Fowler and Sergio Garcia by two strokes.
In general, Open Championships tend to put a premium on chipping and putting — both areas where Conners struggles — but Conners’ world-class ball striking might help him charge into contention.
That will be something for Canadian golf fans to watch out for as they consider whether to take a flyer om Conners at Ontario sports betting apps.
Other Canadians at the Majors
In general, it has been a banner year so far for Canadians on the PGA Tour.
In addition to Conners’ recent win at the Valero Texas Open, Adam Svensson (RSM Classic) and Mackenzie Hughes (Sanderson Farms Championship) have each hoisted a trophy during the 2022-23 PGA Tour season.
Hughes will tee it up at the U.S. Open, having earned a spot based on his rankings in this season’s FedEx Cup Standings. He has +20000 odds on DraftKings sportsbook Ontario.
Meanwhile, Canadian Adam Hadwin (+20000 on BetMGM) will also be in contention at Los Angeles CC. He earned his spot thanks to a top-10 finish one year ago.
So far, Conners is the only one of those Canadians to qualify for The Open Championship in July.
But there will be no shortage of Canadian golfers competing at the Oakdale Country Club outside of Toronto for the RBC Canadian Open on June 6-11.
At last year’s event, Conners finished 6th. He was the Top Canadian.
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