Corey Conners of Listowel, Ontario is in the round of 16 at the World Matchplay Golf Championships in Austin, Texas. He qualified to play on the weekend after winning the 10th group.
Conners, who is seeded 36th out of 64 golfers in the competition, defeated Paul Casey of England after the 19th seed pulled out with a back injury on Wednesday. He then defeated Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa, the 10th seed, 2 and 1 on Thursday, and then beat Alex Noren of Sweden 3 and 2 on Friday. It should be noted that Casey attempted to begin his round on the opening day against Conners on Wednesday, but withdrew after two holes. Oosthuizen, meanwhile is a major champion, as he won the British Open in 2010.
Conners’s opponent on Saturday is Takumi Kanaya of Japan. There is no doubt that Conners is the favourite, as Kanaya is ranked 56th.
Canada is one of eight countries represented in the round of 16 at the World Matchplay Golf Championships. They are joined by the United States, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Spain, England, and Ireland. Of the 16 golfers, are five major champions. Jon Rahm of Spain won the 2021 U.S. Open, Collin Morikawa of the United States won the 2020 PGA Championship, and 2021 British Open, Dustin Johnson of the United States won the 2016 U.S. Open and the 2020 Masters, Adam Scott of Australia won the 2013 Masters, and Brooks Kopeka of the United States won the 2017 and 2018 U.S. Open, and the 2018 and 2019 PGA Championship.
