CROMWELL, Conn. – Three weeks ago during the RBC Canadian Open, officials had the uniforms for this year’s Canadian Olympic team on display in the locker room for fittings of potential team members. Corey Conners had no interest.
For Conners it was an innate superstition, much like hockey players who refuse to touch the Prince of Wales Trophy until they win the Stanley Cup. Conners didn’t get fit for his Olympic uniform with the team still very much in doubt.
“It probably was [superstition], yeah,” Conners laughed Tuesday at the Travelers Championship. “I did see them, I passed them every single day in the locker room. I knew they were there. They couldn’t hide, they were bright red pants hanging right beside my locker. I figured I’d get my sizing when the time came.”
With last week’s U.S. Open also serving as the final qualifying event for this year’s Games, Conners leapfrogged fellow Canadian Adam Hadwin with a closing 70 at Pinehurst and a tie for ninth. The finish lifted Conners from 46th in the world ranking to 37th, which was one spot ahead of Hadwin.
“It’s really amazing,” Conners said. “After experiencing playing in Tokyo, there were definitely some restrictions but it was a really proud moment, a really cool moment to represent your country,” he said. “I was really motivated to make the team in Paris. You get the full Olympic experience, you get to be around some other athletes and do some other things I wouldn’t normally get to do.”
Conners said he knew his Olympic fate would come down to how he finished his week at Pinehurst but he didn’t ask his caddie for an update until after he’d made par on the final hole.
“I knew where things stood before the Canadian Open, I had a good week there so I kind of assumed I had a little cushion but Adam [Hadwin] played really well at the Memorial, third-place finish, but after that I didn’t really know where I stood,” Conners said. “I didn’t know what I needed to do until I putted out on 18 on Sunday [at Pinehurst] when my caddie told me.”