BLAINE, Minn. – Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., sits in second place, two shots back of leader Bryson DeChambeau after 36 holes at the 3M Open.

Fellow Canadians Roger Sloan, Adam Svensson and Corey Conners are also in the hunt, each in a tie for 11th place and six back of the lead.

DeChambeau figured a score well into the double digits below par could win the inaugural 3M Open.

He’s already there, halfway through.

DeChambeau dominated the second round, racking up nine birdies to finish Friday at a career-low 62 and vault into the lead with a 14-under-par score halfway through the first-time PGA Tour event at the TPC Twin Cities.

The 25-year-old DeChambeau, who entered the week eighth in the world rankings, hit greens in regulation on 17 of 18 holes. He sank four putts from 20-plus feet, including the No. 7 and No. 8 holes during a commanding surge on his second nine.

“You’re not going to be perfect, but I can keep driving it well just like I have been, and become more and more confident, that’s the Bryson we saw last year,” said DeChambeau, who went bogey-free over the first two days for the first time in his career.

Hadwin arrived in the clubhouse in second place at 12-under, after five birdies in a steely performance on the back nine amid an on-and-off drizzle during the afternoon. Hadwin, who finished sixth a month ago at the Canadian Open in his native country, shot a 66 to follow up his first-round 64. He was well aware when he teed off exactly how far he’d have to come to pull within striking distance of DeChambeau.

“I am the quintessential leaderboard watcher. I know almost at any point where everybody is at, even at 9 a.m. on Thursday morning,” Hadwin said. “I knew. I obviously knew that low scores were available today, but at the same time you still have to be patient. You still have to let it come.”

Scott Piercy, who opened a two-stroke lead with a 62 in the first round Thursday, started on No. 10 and sputtered through the windless, muggy morning with five bogeys on his first nine to offset an eagle. Piercy still came in at 10-under. He was joined by Sam Burns, Brian Harman and Sam Saunders in a four-way tie for third place.

DeChambeau played with Keegan Bradley and Charles Howell III, who used two eagles to shoot 66 and reach the weekend at 8-under. Tony Finau joined Howell in that large group by chipping in for eagle on the 18th.

Just ahead of them, in a smaller bunch tied for seventh at 9-under, was Arjun Atwal, a 46-year-old from India who became one of four late qualifiers Monday for the 156-player field by shooting a 62.

World No. 1 Brooks Koepka had another quiet day, finishing at 3-under.

The biggest name to miss the cut was Phil Mickelson, who has failed to reach the weekend in four of his last six events. After taking a triple bogey on his way to a 74 in the first round, Mickelson shot a 73 to finish 2-over.

DeChambeau entered the event tied for just 133rd on the tour in greens in regulation. His previous best round on the tour, which he joined in 2017, was a 63 he posted three times. The most recent one was at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January, when he finished tied for 10th.

The first high-profile player to commit to this tournament at the Arnold Palmer-designed, 19-year-old course on a former sod farm now flanked by 4,000-square-foot houses about 20 miles north of downtown Minneapolis, DeChambeau has four top-10 finishes this season. That includes the fifth tour victory of his career at the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open in Las Vegas in November.

After finishing third in the FedEx Cup standings in 2018 , DeChambeau entered the week in 25th place on the strength of his tied-for-eighth finish at the Travelers Championship in Connecticut two weeks ago. He missed the cut in three straight starts this spring, including the PGA Championship.

The 3M Open was attractive to DeChambeau for more than just the potential boost toward a top-10 FedEx Cup finish and the momentum heading into the final major of the year at the British Open in two weeks.

The former physics major at SMU who’s fondly known on tour as the “Mad Scientist” for his exceptional interest in and knowledge of swing mechanics and other intricacies of the sport, DeChambeau eagerly paid a visit this week to 3M world headquarters in Maplewood about 25 miles from the course in Blaine. He checked out some of the innovative projects in the works by the manufacturing giant best known for Post-It notes.

Wearing his usual newsboy-style, classic white golf cap in tribute to Ben Hogan, DeChambeau doffed it often as he walked confidently around the course. The sure sign this was his day came as he wrapped up at the daunting ninth hole, a 502-yard par-4. His second shot landed slightly beyond the rough between the green and one of the many water hazards lurking at the course, about 50 feet from the pin and out of danger. He left his first putt just 3 1/2 feet short, leaving an easy tap to save par.

“That was the only time I was nervous today,” DeChambeau said. “Everything else felt like just a pure rhythm.”

Full scoring can be found here.

BLAINE, Minn. – Scott Piercy went on a late birdie binge en route to a 9-under 62 and the first-round lead at the inaugural 3M Open on Thursday.

Adam Hadwin and Hideki Matsuyama are each two shots back after a 7-under 64 at the TPC Twin Cities.

Hadwin, an Abbotsford, B.C., native, posted a string of four consecutive birdies on the front to move into contention. Three fellow Canadians are three strokes back at 4 under par: Nick Taylor (Abbotsford, B.C.), Mac Hughes (Dundas, Ont.), Roger Sloan (Merritt, B.C.).

Seeking his fifth career tour win and first since the 2018 Zurich Classic, Piercy birdied one of his first seven holes and eight of his final 11, including a nearly 30-foot putt on No. 16 to get to 8 under.

Brian Harman, Sungjae Im, Patton Kizzire and Sam Saunders are among a group three back after shooting 6-under 65.

Bryson DeChambeau is among nine players who shot 5-under 66 and are four shots back.

Brooks Koepka, the world’s top-ranked player, is among more than a dozen players that shot a 4-under 67. Nate Lashley, who won last week’s Rocket Mortgage Classic in Detroit, finished 2 under.

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@ahadwingolf is 2 off the pace through 18 at the @3mopen ?? 3 more Canadians are inside the top 20 ?

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The 3M Open is the first regular tour event in Minnesota since 1969; however, the U.S. Open and PGA Championship have each twice been contested at Hazeltine National Golf Club. The 2016 Ryder Cup was also played there and is to return in 2028.

The tournament replaces a PGA Tour Champions event held in the Land of 10,000 Lakes for 26 years.

A 36-minute weather delay occurred shortly after Piercy teed off, and showers fell briefly a couple of times during the rest of his round. The winds also picked up at times in the afternoon.

Playing in the calm morning, Matsuyama and Hadwin found better success on the soft greens.

Matsuyama entered the day ranked 93rd on tour, averaging 28.95 putts per round. He had 26 Thursday, including making 13 of 14 from inside 10 feet and four of five from 10 to 15 feet. He did not three-putt a hole.

Starting on No. 10, Matsuyama, a five-time tour champion who last won at the 2017 Bridgestone Invitational, had four straight birdies around the turn to get to 6 under before back-to-back birdies on Nos. 5 and 6, the first an 18-foot putt. His lone bogey was his final hole.

Playing two groups behind Matsuyama, Hadwin, 40th in putts per round, was 3 under through nine holes, and birdied four straight holes among his final nine. He made all 15 putts from inside 10 feet and made two of three from between 20 and 25 feet.

“Hideki and I are kind of taking out the Fourth of July celebration for Americans so far,” joked Hadwin, a Canadian whose wife is from the United States. “I’ve got a green card, so it’s home for me.”

Phil Mickelson had seven penalty strokes, including two on the par-5 18th, and finished 3 over.

Minnesota native Tim Herron aced the 208-yard eighth hole.

After nearly two years away from the sport, Graham DeLaet is set to make his return to professional golf on the Korn Ferry Tour.

The 2016 Olympian says he plans to play in a handful of Korn Ferry Tour events in July and August and is eyeing a September return to the PGA TOUR. DeLaet was set to tee off at the TPC Colorado Championship from July 11-14 at Heron Lakes in Berthoud, Col., but withdrew from the tournament before the opening round.

The Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae in Hayward, Calif., from Aug. 1-4 has also been penciled on his schedule.

DeLaet last competed on the PGA TOUR in October 2017, before back injuries forced him to take an extended leave of absence.

The 37-year-old from Weyburn, Sask., has been considered one of Canada’s top golfers since turning professional in 2007. He won ten collegiate tournaments as a member of the Boise State University golf team, and was inducted into his alma mater’s athletics Hall of Fame in February 2019.

DaLaet has won four professional tournaments, but none on the PGA TOUR. He has come close, finishing runner-up on three occasions. The two-time Saskatchewan Amateur champion has played all four major championships, finishing in a tie for seventh at the 2017 PGA Championship, four strokes back of winner Justin Thomas.

Information about the TPC Colorado Championship can be found here.

SANDWICH, England – A third Canadian has earned a spot in the British Open.

Canadian-American dual citizen Austin Connelly of Lake Doucette, N.S., shot 8-under 136 over two rounds on Tuesday at Prince’s Golf Club to earn the third and final spot in the golf major at the qualifier.

The 22-year-old, who grew up in Texas, finished one stroke behind Curtis Knipes and Callum Shinkwin.

Connelly, who has conditional status on the European Tour, will join Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., July 18-21 at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland.

Connelly, who is scheduled to represent Canada at the Pan American Games in Lima, Peru later this summer, is in the British Open for the second time in three years. He finished tied for 14th at the tournament in 2017 after falling out of contention on the final day.

DETROIT – Nate Lashley completed an unlikely wire-to-wire victory in the Rocket Mortgage Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour title.

Lashley closed with a 2-under 70 to finish at 25-under 263 and win by six shots, the margin he took into the day after opening with rounds of 63, 67 and 63.

The 36-year-old Lashley’s parents and girlfriend were killed in a plane crash 15 years ago. He dabbled in real estate after graduating from the University of Arizona, quit playing professional golf several years ago and resumed playing in the PGA Tour’s minor leagues.

“Without my parents, I wouldn’t have started playing golf when I was little,” said Lashley, who began playing when he was 8. “They did everything to help me have a career.”

Monday qualifier Doc Redman shot a 67 to finish second. Rory Sabbatini (68) and Wes Roach (68) were another stroke back.

Canadians Mackenzie Hughes and Roger Sloan finished in a tie for 21st at 13-under 275. Nick Taylor finished in a tie for 35th at 11 under.

Lashley, the 353rd ranked player in the world, slipped into PGA Tour’s first event in Detroit as an alternate Wednesday.

The Nebraskan took full advantage, shooting a career-low 63 in the first round to take a lead he refused to lose at Detroit Golf Club. Lashley stayed atop the leaderboard with a 67 on Friday and gave himself a cushion with another 9-under 63 Saturday.

On the brink of breaking through during his second PGA Tour season, his sister, girlfriend, buddies and family friends flew to Detroit to join him.

Brooke Lashley, who lives near her brother in Arizona, was in awe of as fans followed and cheered for her little brother as they stood along the ropes from tee to green.

“I’m sure a lot of these people didn’t know him a couple days ago,” she said, standing near the No. 8 green. “He’s doing all he can to focus, but this is so incredible. It’s foreign to him because he’s never had this much attention. He’s never played in front of a gallery like this with TV cameras all over the place.”

In 2014, parents Rod and Char Lashley and girlfriend Leslie Hofmeister, all of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, were missing for three days before their bodies and the wreckage were found near the 13,780-foot Gannett Peak in Wyoming after watching him play in a tournament for the University of Arizona.

“It rocked our community,” recalled Helen Reinhardt, a family friend from Nebraska.

Reinhardt and her husband, Jim, boarded a charter plane in Nebraska that stopped in Minnesota to pick up Lashley’s girlfriend and arrived in the Motor City on Sunday.

“It’s great to be here to watch his dream come true after watching him play in the Dakotas Tour and work his way up to here,” said Jeff Peck, one of about a dozen of Lashley’s friends at Detroit Golf Club.

Lashley made a living as a real estate agent after graduating from Arizona and his playing career started, stopped and resumed again. He won the Waterloo Open, a professional tournament, in Iowa in 2011 and quit competitive golf the next year.

When Lashley was flipping houses, he thought his playing career was over.

Lashley gave the game another shot, playing on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuit in 2015 and moved up to what is now called the Korn Ferry Tour two years later.

“The Latin American tour changed his trajectory,” Brooke Lashley said. “It was tough with all the travel to a lot of different countries, but it gave him the chance to get here.”

He made his PGA Tour debut last season in his mid-30s, but he had to end his year after 17 events because of a knee injury. He tied for eighth in February in the Puerto Rico Open – played opposite the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – for his only top-10 finish previously on the tour. He started the tournament No. 132 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Lashley would’ve had to collapse and one of the contenders would’ve had to have a sensational performance to put the final result in doubt.

Neither happened.

Lashley played it safe, putting together a conservative round that kept his comfortable lead.

He made a slow-rolling, downhill putt from 15 feet to birdie the first hole. At No. 3, he started confidently walking toward the cup before his 10-foot birdie putt went in to put him at 25 under.

“The birdies on 1 and 3 really calmed me down,” Lashley said.

Lashley had two bogeys on the front nine – one more than he had the previous three rounds – and coasted to victory on the back with two birdies and no bogeys.

Family and friends stood near the edge of the green as he closed out the round.

Lashley’s girlfriend and sister, choking back tears, went onto the green to give him a hug.

“I’m just real emotional,” he said later. “I’m just thankful I got in the tournament.”

DETROIT – Nate Lashley has been thinking about the deaths of his parents and girlfriend as he tries to close out the Rocket Mortgage Classic for his first PGA Tour title.

“Yeah, it definitely crosses your mind,” Lashley said Saturday after shooting a bogey-free 9-under 63 to open a six-stroke lead at 23 under. “It came through my mind at one point today. At some points it’s not easy, but it goes through your mind and it’s something that’s always going to be there for me.”

The 353rd-ranked player is in his second season on the PGA Tour, reaching the highest level of golf after a long road that included tragedy , selling real estate and playing in the PGA Tour’s minor leagues.

After watching Lashley play in a tournament for the University of Arizona in 2004, his parents and girlfriend died in a plane crash in Wyoming. Rod and Char Lashley and Leslie Hofmeister, all of Scottsbluff, Nebraska, were missing for three days before their bodies and the wreckage were found near the 13,780-foot Gannett Peak.

Lashley meditates, but acknowledges he can’t always control where his thoughts drift even when he’s playing golf.

“You can’t prepare for what your mind’s going to go through on the golf course,” he said.

Lashley made a living as a real estate agent after graduating from college and his playing career started, stopped and resumed again. He won the Waterloo Open, a professional tournament, in Iowa in 2011 and quit competitive golf the next year.

“When I was flipping houses, I thought I was pretty much done with golf,” Lashley recalled. “I always felt like I had the talent and ability to play out here. It was just a matter of getting out here and getting comfortable.”

Lashley gave the game another shot, playing on the PGA Tour Latinoamerica circuit in 2015 and moved up to what is now called the Korn Ferry Tour two years later.

He made his PGA Tour debut last season in his mid-30s, but he had to end his year after 17 events because of a knee injury.

The 36-year-old Lashley slipped into the field at Detroit Golf Club as an alternate. He tied for eighth in February in the Puerto Rico Open – played opposite the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship – for his only top-10 finish on the tour. He’s 132nd in the FedEx Cup standings.

If he can shoot 63 for a third time, he’ll set the PGA Tour scoring record in relation to par that Ernie Els has held since 2003 at 31 under.

Lashley, the first- and second-round leader, started Saturday with a one-shot lead and pulled away with the low round of the day.

Nick Taylor (69) of Abbotsford, B.C., and Roger Sloan (69) of Merritt, B.C., were tied for 30th at 9-under par. Mackenzie Hughes (72) of Dundas, Ont., dropped 18 spots into a tie for 39th.

J.T. Poston (66) was second. Cameron Tringale (65) was another stroke back as one of many players taking advantage of scoring opportunities on one of the easiest courses on the tour.

“I think I had dropped 25 places before I even teed off today, so I knew low scores were out there,” Tringale said. “I just had to keep hitting fairways and greens.”

That’s exactly what Lashley has been doing at Detroit Golf Club.

Lashley is not long off the tee, ranking among the middle of the pack. He has been spectacularly accurate on his approach shots into receptive greens, setting him for a lot of relatively short putts that he’s making.

When Lashley did take chances, he was able to make shots.

His drive on the 559-yard, par-5 seventh landed in an adjacent fairway, leaving him with the choice of hitting a shot low below branches or sending the ball over towering trees and toward the green. He chose to go high and cleared the trees, leaving him 120 feet from the pin. Lashley’s approach landed just 4 feet from the cup and he made the putt for birdie.

He had birdies on four of his first seven holes and had five more on the back nine in the third round. He opened the Rocket Mortgage Classic with a career-low 63 that he matched in the third round.

“I’ve never experienced anything like this,” said Lashley, who shot a 67 in the second round. “You don’t ever expect to shoot 9 under on the PGA Tour, and I’ve done it twice in three days.”

DETROIT – Cameron Champ played one of the best stretches on the PGA Tour this season, matching the lowest nine-hole score and the longest birdie-eagle streak.

Champ had an 8-under 28 on the front nine thanks, shooting under par for six straight holes.

“The hole looked pretty big for a while,” he said.

The rookie cooled off on a steamy day with a 1-over 37 on the back nine, closing with a bogey after pushing a 4-foot putt just to the right and past the cup for a 7-under 65.

Nate Lashley took advantage of the opportunity to put his name on top of the leaderboard for the second straight day. Lashley shot a 67, putting him at 14-under 130 for a one-shot lead at scoring-friendly Detroit Golf Club.

“A lot of the weeks the courses are really difficult, so it’s a nice change coming here,” said Lashley, who is ranked No. 353 in the world.

Charles Howell III (67) was two shots back. J.T. Poston (63) and Ryan Armour (69) were another stroke back.

Mackenzie Hughes (70) of Dundas, Ont., was the low Canadian, finishing the day tied for 21st at 8 under. Roger Sloan (68) of Merritt, B.C., and Nick Taylor (70) of Abbotsford, B.C., tied for 44th at 6 under.

Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., all missed the cut.

Dustin Johnson, the world’s second-ranked player, and U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland finished at 2 under to miss the cut by three strokes.

“It just seemed like every time I hit a bad shot, it was in the wrong spot and made bogey,” said Johnson, who had four of five bogeys on his back nine.

Woodland opened with a 72 in his first start since winning his first major and bounced back with a 69, an up-and-down round with eight birdies and five bogeys.

He and Johnson will have an extra couple of days to prepare for the British Open.

“Yeah, I need to get ready, but I’m excited about Portrush,” Woodland said. “I’ve heard great things. But I’ve got some work to do, just tighten some things up. I wasn’t prepared as much as I probably should have been this week. But two weeks off, I’ll have plenty of time and I’ll be ready to go.”

Chez Reavie, who won the Travelers Championship last week, and Bubba Watson also failed to make it to the weekend.

Reavie was tied for fourth entering the day and was 6 under on his 13th hole of the second round. He closed with a bogey, double bogey and triple bogey to plummet to 1-under 143. Watson shot a 75 after opening with a 68.

The 36-year-old Lashley slipped into the tournament as an alternate Wednesday.

“The way I’m playing, yeah, I feel like I should be out here every week,” he said.

Lashley is No. 132 in the FedEx Cup standings.

“I need a good week and move up into that top 125,” he said. “To do it this week comfortably would be great. To be able to kind of relax the last few events of the season would be really nice.”

Lashley’s only top-10 finish during his two-year PGA Tour career was in February, when he tied for eighth at the Puerto Rico Open.

The 24-year-old Champ won the Sanderson Farms Championship in October and added a pair of top-10 finishes in November. In his last 10 tournaments, though, he has missed seven cuts and withdrawn once with a finish no better than a tie for 54th.

Champ, who is from Sacramento, California, leads the tour in driving distance at 316.6 yards and ranks 187th in accuracy.

After a ringing phone distracted him on the 17th tee, he sent a 320-yard drive to the left into the rough behind a tree 251 yards to the pin. Champ originally planned to use a 3-iron before choosing a 4-iron for his second shot and sent a low line drive under branches that left him 91 feet away.

“I was just looking to see if I could get a 3-iron out of that lie,” he said. “There was no chance.”

His chip set him up for a 9-footer for birdie, his only one on the back nine.

“The back side I really didn’t play terrible, I just hit a few shots that kind of limited my ability to get it close to the hole,” he said.

DETROIT – Nate Lashley tried and failed to qualify for a spot in the Rocket Mortgage Classic earlier this week.

He chose to stay in Detroit, hoping to slip into the field as an alternate.

Good call.

Lashley birdied the final three holes and five of the last six for a 9-under 63 and the first-round lead Thursday at the PGA Tour’s first event in Detroit.

The 36-year-old Lashley had the lowest score in his PGA Tour career, a day after finding out he would have a chance to compete at Detroit Golf Club. Ranked 353rd in the world and No. 132 in the FedEx Cup standings, Lashley’s only top-10 finish in his two-year PGA Tour career is a tie for eighth in the Puerto Rico Open in February.

“Hopefully, can play well this week and continue to play well and lock up my card,” he said.

Ryan Armour and Nick Watney were at stroke back at 64. Chez Reavie , the Travelers Championship winner last week in Connecticut, and Charles Howell III and Stewart Cink topped the group of seven players at 65.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., fired a 6-under 66 to finish the day in a tie for 11th. Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 4-under 68 to enter a tie for 33rd, Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., was at 3-under 69 to tie for 55th. Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., had identical 2-under 70 rounds to tie for 75th. Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., was tied for 122nd at even-par 72 and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., was at 1-over 73 to tie for 131st.

Dustin Johnson, the second-ranked player in the world, opened with a 71. Gary Woodland had a 73 in his first start since winning the U.S. Open, an accomplishment that altered his career and schedule.

“I definitely didn’t get prepared as much as I like to, but that’s no excuse,” Woodland said.

Lashley made the most of the opportunity with a bogey-free round, taking advantage of scoring opportunities during a day with little wind on a short course with receptive greens. He opened with a birdie and had three more on the front nine before the closing spree.

Lashley, who is from Nebraska, had a knee injury last year that stunted his rookie season on the PGA Tour after 17 events.

“I’m just trying to play relaxed and confident golf,” he said.

There’s no chance Lashley can afford to be comfortable with the early lead.

Johnson provided proof the Donald Ross-designed course can present a challenge. The only top-10 player in the field ranked in the middle of the pack off the tee, missing five of 14 fairways. He was among the worst on approach shots, leaving him 33-plus feet away from the pin on average.

Johnson missed the green to the left on the 175-yard, par-3 fifth and his ball bounced into a bunker, forcing him to stand in the rough while squatting to get the ball out of the sand.

“It ended up in a terrible spot,” he said.

Four shots later, Johnson had his first of two double bogeys. He was 2 over at No. 11 before rallying with three birdies over the last five holes.

“I think come out (Friday) morning and shooting a good score, I’ll be back in the tournament,” he said after finishing the first round tied for 101st.

Woodland was strong late in the first round after failing to maintain any momentum from winning the first major of his career. He tied a U.S. Open record by making just four bogeys over four rounds at Pebble Beach and had that many bogeys in a four-hole stretch at Detroit Golf Club and a total of six. After falling to 5 over through 11 holes, he had four birdies over the last six to finish with a 73.

Reavie, meanwhile, picked up where he left off after winning for his first win in 11 years. He had a 4-under 32 on the front nine and was 3 under on the back, including an eagle on the 582-yard, par-5 17th.

“I’m entering the week as if I didn’t win last week,” Reavie said. “I’m out here grinding as I do every week and looking forward to the challenge. I like old-school golf courses. I like being able to work it off slopes on the greens.”

PORTRUSH, Northern Ireland – Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., learned Wednesday that he will be playing The Open Championship next month at Royal Portrush Golf Club in Portrush, Northern Ireland.

The Canadian earned an exemption into the final major of the season based on his position in the World Golf Ranking (No. 82).

Conners will join Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., as the Canadians who will tee off at the 148th playing of the storied tournament. Hadwin qualified for The Open with his strong performance at the RBC Canadian Open.

Conners shot into the spotlight with his win at the Valero Texas Open in April. The 27-year-old has never competed at The Open Championship.

This will be Conners’ fifth major championship appearance. He made the cut at both majors he’s played this season, finishing in a tie for 46th at The Masters and in a tie for 64th at the PGA Championship. He also played the 2015 Masters and the 2017 U.S. Open, missing the cut on both occasions.

Two more spots in The Open Championship are up for grabs at the Rocket Mortgage Classic in at Detroit Golf Club in Detroit, Mich. this week. Seven Canadians are in the field, including Conners.

The 148th Open Championship will take place from July 18-21.

CROMWELL, Conn. – Chez Reavie is a PGA Tour winner again after 11 years and 250 events.

Reavie won the Travelers Championship on Sunday, closing with a 1-under 69 for a four-stroke victory over Keegan Bradley and Zack Sucher.

The 37-year-old Reavie, whose first title came as a rookie at the 2008 Canadian Open, finished at 17-under 263 at TPC River Highlands a week after tying for third in the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach.

“It means everything,” he said. “I went through some injuries, had some long years there in the middle. But it was great, because it gave good perseverance and good perspective of what life is and what golf is.”

The former Arizona State player took a six-stroke lead over Bradley and Sucher into the round after a shooting a 63 on Saturday. He had an understated celebration, pulling his ball out of the hole at 18 and saluting the crowd with it clenched in his fist.

It was the same calm he showed throughout the day, even as, Bradley, a New England native from nearby Vermont, chipped away to the cheers of the large galleries.

Bradley made back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 to get within three shots, just missed a 13-foot birdie putt on the 12th, then made a 9-footer on 13 to get within two strokes. His 22 foot-birdie attempt at 14 stopped just at the hole.

He got within a stroke on the par-4 15th when he made a 7 1/2-foot birdie putt after Reavie missed an 11-footer.

“The crowd was just so behind me and so loud and so, it felt like a Ryder Cup to me,” Bradley said. “Man, I’ve dreamt of this ever since I’ve come here at 10 years old. It lived up to the hype – it was awesome.”

But Reavie put the tournament away on the par-4 17th, making a 14-foot birdie putt, while Bradley three-putted for a double bogey. Bradley and Sucher each shot 67, with Sucher playing the back nine in 5-under 30.

Sucher, coming of an injury that kept him away from golf for 13 months after the 2017 Travelers, had his best ever finish in a PGA Tour event.

“The back nine was unbelievable,” Sucher said. “I mean the whole thing was unbelievable with the huge crowds, it was quite an experience.”

He came into his fourth of six medical extension start needing to earn 347 FexEx Cup points to retain his Tour card. He came in with 25 points and picked up 245 with the second-place tie.

“It’s amazing, it’s life-changing to be honest,” Sucher said. “It changes the rest of our year, it changes our plans and we have a lot of work to do to figure what else we have to do now.”

Vaughn Taylor, who started nine strokes back, made a run of five birdies to finish his final-round of 65, shooting a 29 on the back nine. His 15-foot birdie putt on 18 put him at 12 under.

“I’ve never birdied the last five holes of a tournament that’s for sure,” Taylor said

Paul Casey, who blew a four-stroke lead during last year’s final round, started the day 10 strokes behind Reavie, his former college teammate. But he hit his tee shot on the par-4 15th inside 7 feet and made eagle, then finished with a birdie to go 11 under.

The Englishman said he was hoping to match the 28 Reavie put up on the back nine Saturday to put some pressure on him. But he couldn’t do it and spent the rest of the day rooting for his friend.

Reavie, who took home just under $1.3 million, has finished in the top 20 in five of his last six starts.

Defending champion Bubba Watson, who was hoping for a fourth title in Connecticut, shot a 71 to finish at 1 under, but said he wasn’t disappointed with his week.

“I know sometimes I look like I’m angry out there,” he said. “But most of the time, I’m pretty happy.”

Brooks Koepka made quick work of his final round, also shooting a 71 to finish the tournament at an even par. He and Russell Knox needed just under three hours to play their 18 holes in the first group of the day. Koepka says he has a couple of appearances in the next two days and then will get some much-needed rest.

“I’m not going to practice and take some time away from the game and just try to realize what’s going on,” he said. “”I don’t think I’m still over Bethpage, and with these majors they are so tightly bunched, it’s difficult. I didn’t really have a chance to soak that one in and then we are playing again, it’s just a continuation that keeps rolling on.“