Jon McCarthy

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Canada's Corey Conners off to a running start in second trip to the Olympics Canada's Corey Conners off to a running start in second trip to the Olympics Listowel, Ont. native shows off the ball-striking prowess that he's known for in his day job on the PGA Tour Author of the article: Article content Corey Conners' quest to add a medal to his trophy case is off and running at Le Golf National just outside of Paris. Advertisement 2 Article content Canada's Corey Conners off to a running start in second trip to the Olympics Back to video The Canadian opened his 2024 Olympic Games with a three-under par round of 68. Conners' was four-under — and near the top of the leaderboard — heading to the final hole, before making his second bogey of the day at the 482-yard par-4 18th. On a day of optimal scoring conditions with little breeze and warm but not stifling temperatures, the 32-year-old was out on the golf course early, playing in the fourth group of the morning beginning at 9:33 a.m. local time. It was a very Corey Conners'-style round for Canada's top-ranked golfer on Thursday, as the Listowel, Ont. native showed off the ball-striking prowess that he's known for in his day job on the PGA Tour. Conners hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation on Thursday, hitting his approach shot within 10 feet of the hole on six occasions. Advertisement 3 Article content Travelling to Paris with his wife Malory, the 2024 Games are Conners' second trip to the Olympics. What's different this time compared to his previous trip three years ago, is this time there are spectators in attendance. Despite the sting of a bogey on the closing hole, it's a solid start for Conners who is looking to earn a medal after finishing 13th in Tokyo. The Tokyo Games three years ago were played without fans due to COVID-19, but early returns from Paris have French golf enthusiasts showing up in good numbers. Associated Press golf writer Doug Ferguson estimated a Thursday crowd of approximately 25,000 fans to watch the world's best battle for an Olympic medal. Hideki Matsuyama is the early clubhouse leader, posting a sparkling eight-under round of 63 Nick Taylor is the other Canadian in the field and he was one-over par through 11 holes. Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp begin play in the women's tournament next Thursday. MORE TO COME… Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Canada's Corey Conners off to a running start in second trip to the Olympics Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake Featured Local Savings

For the second day in a row it looked as though Corey Conners was going to walk off the Olympic golf course with a bad taste in his mouth, but dinner in Paris will taste a little better on Friday.

Corey Conners push to get into medal contention on Saturday never materialized at Le Golf National, and the Canadian will need a miracle round Sunday

Scottie Scheffler exploded with an Olympic-sized scream as his birdie putt rolled in on the 17th hole at Le Golf National

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Scottie Scheffler is your Olympic men's golf champion Scottie Scheffler is your Olympic men's golf champion Scottie Scheffler exploded with an Olympic-sized scream as his birdie putt rolled in on the 17th hole at Le Golf National Author of the article: Article content Scottie Scheffler exploded with an Olympic-sized scream as his birdie putt rolled in on the 17th hole at Le Golf National on Sunday just outside of Paris. Scottie Scheffler is your Olympic men's golf champion Back to video It was his fourth birdie in a row — his ninth of the day — and the final one the World No. 1 needed to claim the gold medal in men's golf at 2024 Summer Games. It's Scheffler's seventh win of the season, as the game's best player adds an Olympic victory to a year that already included his second Masters win, the Players Championship, and four PGA Tour signature events. Advertisement 2 Article content On an unbelievable day of golf at Le Golf National, the 28-year-old American tied the course record with an astonishing bogey-free nine-under 62 to reach 19-under par, one stroke clear of Englishman Tommy Fleetwood (66) who took home the silver medal. After rolling in the 17-foot birdie putt on the penultimate hole, Scheffler screamed, “C'mon!” as he grabbed the lead for the first time since the competition began. The rare show of emotion from the Scheffler, is a testament to the success of golf at these Paris 2024 Games. With much larger and energetic crowds than many players expected, golf has picked up plenty of momentum in its third trip back to the Olympics after more than a century away. “If you look at the overall atmosphere this week, I think all of us were kind of taken aback,” New Zealand's Ryan Fox said. “The atmosphere felt as big as a major, if not bigger, especially those first couple of holes. Advertisement 3 Article content “It shows how big an event the Olympics is overall. I think probably didn't have a traditional golf crowd, more of a sporting crowd. People happy to be out there with their national flags everywhere and it was just really, really cool to be a part of that.” Japan's Hideki Matsuyama won the bronze medal, shooting a six-under 65 to finish at 17-under. France's Victory Perez was nearly a Cinderella story on Sunday, shooting 29 on the back nine with four birdies and an eagle to finish fourth at 16-under, narrowly missing a medal. “Obviously great round. I don't think there's any shots that I could have picked up on that back nine for sure, even on the front nine. I think I played really well. You know, the course is not particularly easy,” Perez said after his round. “This theatre at the end created an atmosphere that we don't get to experience that often, that stadium-like atmosphere which I think we all enjoy but we don't get often in golf.” Advertisement 4 Article content Jon Rahm looked have the gold medal in his grasp, with a four-shot lead as the leaders played the back nine. But it wasn't to be for the Spaniard, as he made four bogies and a double bogey over the final eight holes to fall completely out of the medals. Corey Conners saved his best for last at the Paris Olympics, but a Sunday 66 wasn't enough to earn the Canadian a spot on the podium. Conners made five birdies without a single blemish on his scorecard in the final round at Le Golf National to finish 12-under par for the week, which was good for an admirable tie for ninth in the 60-player men's golf competition. It was the type of week Canadian golf fans have come to expect from the ball-striking wizard from Listowel, Ont., as Conners tee-to-green game was sharp all week long. Over the four day event, he finished near the top of the field in strokes-gained off the tee; and once in the fairways, he found the putting surfaces nearly 80% of the time hitting 56 of 72 greens in regulation. Next up for the 32-year-old is the PGA Tour playoffs, before a near-certain appearance for Mike Weir's International team at next month's President's Cup in Montreal. Nick Taylor made up for a slow start with a strong weekend, shooting 68-69 over the final two days to finish tied for 30th at four-under. Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Scottie Scheffler is your Olympic men's golf champion Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake Featured Local Savings

Will the third time be the charm for this familiar pair of Canadian golfers? Alena Sharp remembers quite well the first time she played golf with Brooke Henderson.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Another round: Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp ready for third Olympics Games together Another round: Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp ready for third Olympics Games together Will the third time be the charm for this familiar pair of Canadian golfers? Author of the article: Article content Alena Sharp remembers quite well the first time she played golf with Brooke Henderson. It would be tough to forget considering the teen phenom made a hole-in-one. Advertisement 2 Article content Another round: Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp ready for third Olympics Games together Back to video “I said, ‘Hey, when you become of age, you owe me a drink,'” Sharp recalled as the two Canadian golfers met with media ahead of this week's Olympic women's golf competition just outside of Paris. That fateful ace began a friendship and mentorship that has spanned more than a decade and spawned a Canadian golfing duo that is entering its third Olympic Games together. “Ever since then,” Sharp said of their friendship. “She was trying to make it on the tour, like playing Monday qualifying and I gave her some tips on some of the courses because she didn't get to play a practice round. “From there, we just have developed a great friendship. I don't know how many years it's been, but I feel like it's been more than I know.” Time can certainly fly in the life of a professional athlete, but Henderson and Sharp have been the constants in Canadian women's golf for what seems like a sporting eternity. Advertisement 3 Article content “Alena has always been a great mentor to me so it's really special to compete in three Olympic Games together and represent Team Canada because we are both very proud to be from Canada,” Henderson said. In Henderson's case, the former teen prodigy was one of the game's great early bloomers, winning five LPGA tournaments and a major championship by the age of 20. Now 26 years old, Henderson is looking to add an Olympic medal to her trophy case of 13 LPGA victories and two majors. “It's very exciting to have the opportunity to play such a beautiful golf course,” Henderson said of Le Golf National, 40 km southwest of Paris. “Here on Sunday watching the men's final round, the energy and atmosphere was electric. Hopefully it will be similar for us.” Advertisement 4 Article content Henderson had an opportunity to watch her friends Corey Conners and Nick Taylor play the Olympic course last week and says she picked up some ideas about how to tackle the dramatic Le Golf National layout that features water hazards on ten of the 18 holes. “It's cool to see how the men played the course,” Henderson said. “I mean, there's definitely things that the women will have to play differently. Just play to our strengths a little bit more, where the men, they can probably hit it over the rough and still hit pretty great shots and hole the greens, where we have to be a little more strategic and I think fairways will be probably be a little more important for us.” Henderson played a practice round on Tuesday and noticed a golf course that was firming up and windier conditions than the men enjoyed last week. She begins her quest for gold at 10:23 a.m. local time on Wednesday. Advertisement 5 Article content The Smiths Falls, Ont., native's tie for seventh place at Rio 2016 is Canada's best finish at the Olympics since golf returned to the Games after more than a century away. She finished tied for 29th in Tokyo three years ago and is looking for more this week when play begins Wednesday. “It's fun to be at a Games where there's so many people and there's so much excitement surrounding it,” she said of the great atmosphere at last week's men's tournament. “I feel like so far it has been the best one.” In contrast to Henderson, the 43-year-old Sharp has proved to be something of a late bloomer, extending her career and playing some of her best golf in recent years. All of Sharp's best finishes in major championships have come after the age of 35. Advertisement 6 Article content “I feel like coming here, I could actually win now,” Sharp said. “Tokyo, I didn't think that. The last two weeks playing before here were really solid. I had two really good finishes and coming into my stride at the right time.” Last year, Sharp won bronze for Team Canada in the women's event at the Pan American Games. “Being in that pressure situation, I can still remember it because it was only in November and I feel like that's going to help me,” she said. Sharp attended beach volleyball on Saturday and said she has had the Games on two screens every day, and is looking forward another getting her tournament underway on Wednesday at 12:28 p.m. local time. “I think it's nice to be with your friend,” Sharp said of sharing another Olympic experience with Henderson. “You know, bounce ideas off each other. We are so easygoing and good teammates that way.” Henderson agrees and said the pair plans to attend the closing ceremonies together. “It's been really special to build on a friendship and like I said to be competing in our third Olympic Games together and representing the country that we love is pretty cool,” she said. Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Another round: Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp ready for third Olympics Games together Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake Featured Local Savings

Blonde British bomber has become a viral sensation for smoking during rounds on LPGA Tour There will be no smoking at the Olympics.

Brooke Henderson has plenty of work to do to get herself onto the podium in France — and her job got much more difficult after finding water on the 18th hole of her second round.

Advertisement 1 Share this Story : Brooke Henderson has uphill climb for Olympic medal contention at Paris Games Brooke Henderson has uphill climb for Olympic medal contention at Paris Games Canadian shoots 1-over par to sit 11 strokes back of leader Author of the article: Article content Brooke Henderson has plenty of work to do to get herself onto the podium in France — and her job got much more difficult after finding water on the 18th hole of her second round. Advertisement 2 Article content Brooke Henderson has uphill climb for Olympic medal contention at Paris Games Back to video One day after saving her opening round with an eagle at the par-5 closing hole at Le Golf National, the Canadian star sailed her second shot over the green and into the water hazard on Thursday, finishing her day with a bogey to shoot a one-over par 73 and head to the weekend at three-over par, 11 strokes back of the lead. At the top of the leaderboard through two rounds at Le Golf National is Swiss golfer Morgane Metraux, who vaulted into first place in the women's Olympic competition on the strength of a front nine for the ages during Thursday's second-round play. With two eagles and four birdies, Metraux shot an incredible eight-under through nine holes to get her round off to a blazing start. Despite a two-over par 38 on the back nine for a six-under 66, Metraux leads the field in France at eight-under and will begin the third round in the lead. Advertisement 3 Article content “I was really calm. I knew my game is in a good spot and I was rolling it well. Yeah, it was actually surprisingly very calm starting the round,” she said of her incredible front nine. “I actually tried not to think about it. Just keep doing the same things. “The swing didn't feel quite as good on the back nine, and on those short holes, if you get slightly off line, it gets really tricky. The rough is really thick and the greens are really firm. It's not that I played worse, just one or two shots that cost me a few.” Metraux has a one-stroke lead over China's Ruoning Yin, who shot an Olympic women's record 65 to head into the final two rounds at seven-under. Lydia Ko is the biggest name to make it relatively unscathed through two rounds, following a level-par opening round with a five-under 67 on Thursday to sit in third place, three strokes back of Metraux. Advertisement 4 Article content The New Zealand golfer needs a golf medal to complete her collection, having won a silver at Rio 2016 and a bronze in Tokyo three years ago. “Honestly this golf course is so hard, it's hard to think about the other things because I'm just trying to shoot the best score I can around here,” Ko said after her round. “I think this is the toughest golf course we've played in the past three Games, and all of them had very different characteristics. “But this one, you could shoot a really low score if you're on but at the same time it can get away from you, as well.” The women's golf event kept teasing a star-studded leaderboard, but the tricky Le Golf National course had a different plan for many of them, including the world No. 1. American Nelly Korda worked her way into second place on Thursday at six-under before a quadruple bogey at the par-3 16th shook her round. Advertisement 5 Article content Bringing back memories of her disastrous 10 at the U.S. Women's Open earlier this summer, Korda found water off the tee on the 16th, then found a bunker, then bladed a sand shot, then took three more shots to get into the hole. It all added up to seven strokes at the 136-yard par 3, dropping her down the leaderboard. “Just a series of unfortunate events happened in a row, but I ended on a birdie and made a wonder put after leaving myself in not the easiest of positions on the right side of the green having to go almost through the sprinkler heads,” she said after shooting a two-under 70. “Overall, I still shot under par. I'm going to try and take the positive.” Korda is tied for 12th at two-under for the week, along with young star Rose Zhang. Advertisement 6 Article content First-round leader Celine Boutier carries the hopes of host nation France, but the 30-year-old followed Wednesday's seven-under 65 with a four-over 76 on Thursday. Boutier remains in contention at three-under through 36 holes. “Emotionally it was fine. Definitely feel like I left a few shots out there,” Boutier said. “Had a rough patch in the back and didn't really make as many birdie putts as I did (Wednesday). So definitely reflected in the score.” After a solid opening round of one-under 71, Canada's Alena Sharp shot a four-over 76 on Thursday and heads to the weekend tied for 29th with Henderson at three-over. Article content Share this article in your social network Share this Story : Brooke Henderson has uphill climb for Olympic medal contention at Paris Games Comments Join the Conversation Postmedia is committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion. Please keep comments relevant and respectful. Comments may take up to an hour to appear on the site. You will receive an email if there is a reply to your comment, an update to a thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information. Latest National Stories News Near Elliot Lake Featured Local Savings