Corey Conners was the leading Canadian at the outset of the second round of the U.S. Open at Shinnecock Hills on Friday.
Conners entered the round at 1-under after a strong first round, with rookie Sudarshan Yellamaraju (3-over), Nick Taylor (4-over) and Ben Silverman (4-over) the other Canadians in the field at the major.
First-round play was halted early due to poor weather on Thursday, meaning Conners, who had finished 16 holes, was one of the early ones on the course Friday. He and Yellamaraju each teed off early in the morning, and noted that the conditions were still rough at the course in Southampton, N.Y.
Yallamaraju was the first Canadian in the second round, and the 24-year-old got off to a fast start with a birdie on the par-4 tenth hole. There was not a lot of positives afterwards, as Yellamaraju logged three bogeys on his final eight holes and finished the day at 2-over with two birdies and four bogeys. He dropped to 5-over for the tournament with the performance, which is right on the projected cut line.
Conners followed shortly after, and the Listowel, Ont. native was steady in the early going, knocking in six straight pars to open his round before birdies on his seventh and 10th holes of the day dropped Conners to 3-under and into a tie for second in the tournament.
Conners could not keep the momentum up from there though, as he ran into a trouble stretch shortly after - bogeys on his 11th, 13th, 15 and 16th holes caused the 34-year-old to tumble down the standings and end his day at 2-over - 1-over for the tournament.
“The round was okay,” Conners said to TSN’s Bob Weeks after his round had ended. “Tricky conditions ... I made the turn in a great spot today and just gave back a few right at the end.”
Rain bogged down play throughout the day on Thursday, and Conners noted that the windy conditions on Friday were still influencing the round in a different way.
“It [was] a little tricky for sure, with the wind gusting a little bit,” Conners said. “It [could] put a little doubt in your read, not knowing whether the wind is going to effect it or not.
Silverman and Taylor both got afternoon tee times as they tried to rebound from slow starts on Thursday and make the cut for the weekend.
However, Silverman got off to a rough start in the second round with a bogey and double bogey after five holes, putting him in a tough spot for the remainder of the day. He would birdie the par-3 7th but could not claw back any further, as he finished his round with two more bogeys on 15 and 18 to finish 4-over for the day and 8-over overall. He is well back of the projected 4-over cut line.
Taylor finished the second round in a tie for 73rd at 5-over after shooting a 1-over 71 on Friday. The situation looked dire for Taylor as he sat at 7-over with five holes to go, and he managed to birdie 14 and 18 to get back to +5 but still sits one shot behind the +4 cut line along with fellow Canadian Yellamaraju.
