Corey Conners opened the first round of the Olympic golf tournament in the middle of a crowded field.
The Canadian shot a 3-under 68 to sit in a tie for 14th after the opening round at Le Golf National. He managed to record three birdies and a bogey on the front nine and a pair of birdies and a bogey on the back nine.
“It was definitely quite solid. I did a lot of things pretty well. I felt like the iron game was really good,” Conners said after the round. “I just missed a few fairways and got in some tricky spots, more so on the back nine on a couple of holes … I felt like when I hit the fairway, I was giving myself great birdie chances.”
“I can feel quite positive about a lot of things. I feel like I have a good game plan to attack the golf course here.”
The Listowel, Ont., native hit 14 of 18 greens in regulation, with six approach shots sitting within 10 feet of the hole.
Conners will look to improve on what he showed in Tokyo when he finished 13th.
Joining Conners to represent Canada is Nick Taylor, who finished his opening round 29th at one-under par.
The Canadians have their work cut out for them as Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama opened with a 8-under-63. Defending Olympic champion Xander Schauffele finished second after shooting a 6-under-65.
Conners is the 38th-ranked player in the world and is Canada’s highest-ranked male golfer. Taylor is No. 44. Conners has had a slick summertime on the PGA Tour, with three top-10 finishes in his last six tournaments. He hasn’t finished outside the top 30 since April.
Representing Canada in the women’s field are Brooke Henderson and Alena Sharp, who will play in the women’s tournament starting Aug. 8.
–With files from Sportsnet’s Adam Stanley.