Canadian Corey Conners tied for lead at Texas Open

SAN ANTONIO — Canada’s Corey Conners was tied for first after the morning wave of the second round of the Valero Texas Open.

A Monday qualifier for the PGA Tour event, Conners shot a 5-under 67 on Friday to make him 8 under for the tournament.

Conners, who birdied his final three holes on Friday, was tied for top spot with Americans Jordan Spieth, Harold Varner III and Adam Schenk and Korean Kyoung-Hoon Lee.

Four golfers were one shot behind the leaders.

“Everything’s working,” said Conners, a 27-year-old native of Listowel, Ont. “Just keep working on the putting. Got some confidence after today rolling a bunch in.”

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Conners has only a partial PGA Tour card this year after finishing 130th in the FedEx Cup standings last year — the top 125 get full cards.

He appears to well on his way to gaining full status for next year. Conners is 66th in the standings this season after a second-place finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship and a tie for third at the Sony Open.

Conners has struggled in recent weeks, missing five of the past six cuts.

A win at the Texas Open would get Conners into the Masters next week.

“It would be pretty big,” Conners said. “I’m not trying to get too far ahead of myself. Any event that you have a chance is amazing. To be a Monday qualifier, (he’s just) pumped to be out here.”

Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., and Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., also are in the tournament.

The Canadian Press