Canadian Austin Connelly’s major debut ended with a T14. Not bad.
Nightmarish front nine takes Canadian out of running for ticket to Masters
SOUTHPORT, ENGLAND— Austin Connelly, the 20-year-old CanadianAmerican dual citizen playing his first major, started Sunday’s final round of the British Open six shots behind and in the penultimate group at a major championship.
He didn’t make a birdie until the 11th hole, closed with a 73 and tied for 14th.
At stake was a spot in the Masters if he had stayed in the top four. He also could have secured a spot next year in the British Open if he had finished in the top 10.
Connelly wasn’t hanging his head, however. He is off to Germany next week for the Porsche European Open and said he would play the European Tour the rest of the year.
“It was definitely a rough start on the front nine,” he said. “But it was nice to battle back the way I did. The main issue I had out there was just hitting way too many bunkers. I think I plugged it in three bunkers, and you just can’t do that. Happy with the way I played. Happy with the way I hit it. It was just very difficult out there. Take a lot of positives away from it.”
Rory McIlroy has gone 10 majors without winning, the longest stretch since he turned pro. He at least felt he made progress at the Open, and he has reason to be excited for the next major.
Despite a horrid start at Royal Birkdale — 5 over through six holes Thursday — he bounced back with rounds of 68-69-67 to tie for fourth, his best finish in a major since he was fourth alone in the 2015 Masters.
And the PGA Championship is at Quail Hollow in North Carolina, where McIlroy has won twice. First up is the Bridgestone Invitational, where he won the last time he played Firestone in 2014.
“I’m excited for the next two weeks,” he said. “I haven’t played at Firestone for a couple of years. The last time I played there I won. And I’ve had some good finishes. Quail Hollow, I’ve played well there. Shot a couple of course records, a couple of wins. Got beaten in a playoff, as well. Another couple of top 10s thrown in there. So I play well at Quail Hollow. I love the golf course. I know they’ve made a few changes, but I’ll have some really good vibes going into that week.”
McIlroy had three missed cuts in his previous four tournaments.
Justin Rose came to Royal Birkdale looking for a British Open championship, not a celebration of his debut on the course 19 years ago.
He got neither, though he still holds a fond spot for the course where he finished fourth as a 17-year-old amateur in 1998.
“It would be a dream to win here, but this course doesn’t owe me anything, right?” Rose said. “That was 19 years ago. You don’t expect to play well here because of what happened 19 years ago.”
Rose, whose only major title came in the U.S. Open, finished with a finalround 70 and was 4 over for the tournament. He blamed a change he has made in his swing.
“I think all the guys respect this golf course. Everybody thinks it’s one of the best ones we play on the rotation,” he said. “I think it’s fair.”
Dustin Johnson thought he might have an outside chance to make a move. That notion ended quickly.
Johnson hit into a bunker on the first hole and had to blast out sideways because of the lie. He rolled a putt from short of the green to about five feet, and then missed that to make double bogey. Johnson bogeyed the next hole, made only one birdie and shot a 77.
Right behind him was Hideki Matsuyama, who started even worse. His opening tee shot sailed into a gorse bush, and he opened with a triple bogey. He managed to salvage a 72.