AUGUSTA — Seconds after making a critical lengthy par putt on 18, Corey Conners walked through an aisle of patrons deafeningly chanting another guy's name.
“Rory, Rory, Rory.”
Moments later while facing the press outside the Augusta National clubhouse, his voice was drowned out by chants of another name.
“Bryson, Bryson, Bryson.”
Conners is undoubtedly the third wheel in a two-man party everyone wants to attend on Sunday at Augusta National Golf Club. Yet the Canadian’s serene self-belief, evident as he withstood an Irish storm on Saturday, ultimately gave him a chance to win a green jacket and his first major championship.
“I’ve got a lot of faith in my game,” Conners said. “What the other guys do is kind of out of my control, but I'm going to have to go and play a really good round of golf tomorrow.”
Conners is at 8 under par, four strokes behind the overnight leader McIlroy and two behind DeChambeau. Conners is in solo third, seemingly the only player who could play the role of party-crasher, and Saturday it was clear that he won’t be intimidated by the moment.
Paired with McIlroy for the third round, Conners had a front-row seat to McIlroy Mania as the Irishman ignited Tiger-era roars by making a Masters record six straight threes to start his round.
McIlroy was 4 under on the day at that point, two strokes ahead of the field at 11 under par overall, and six ahead of Conners as they walked to the 7th hole.
The crowd was firmly behind McIlroy. Conners was 1 over on his round. There was no reason to believe he could claw his way back into it.
Then he did.
Conners birdied holes 8-10, McIlroy made two bogeys and the gap was one. McIlroy extended his lead to four thanks with an outrageous eagle on 15, again setting off a crowd that's desperate for McIlroy to claim his first green jacket.
Even after that second storm, Conners didn’t flinch, making a cold-blooded, downhill eight-foot par putt on 18 to stay within striking distance.
“Felt like I did a great job of that and was expecting there to be some emotions playing with Rory,” Conners told Sports Illustrated when asked how he stayed focused. “He’s a popular player. But I did a good job of just staying within myself.”
Doubt can enter a player’s mind when an opponent goes on the kind of heater McIlroy did to start his round. Conners couldn’t ignore the roars when they reached a fever pitch after McIlroy’s chip-in eagle on the 2nd hole.
Momentarily shaken, ultimately undeterred, Conners steeled himself after a rocky start and is still in position to put pressure back on Mcilroy with a hot start on Sunday. Whether McIlroy or DeChambeau will offer any opening remains unclear, but Mcilroy’s done it before on Sunday at Augusta.
“Rory is a world-class player and a lot of people were cheering him on. Certainly a lot of people were cheering me on, as well,” Conners said. “Felt great to be in that type of atmosphere. It’s a fun, great place to be, and it was a fun day.”
Doesn’t sound like Conners is ready for a party of two to be served just yet.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Corey Conners Withstood Rory McIlroy Mania, but Now Comes the Hard Part.