Canadian golfer Corey Conners is at the top of the leaderboard for the second consecutive day at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club & Lodge in Orlando, Florida as the field gets trimmed for the third and fourth rounds of play. He came in as a bit of a long shot to win the event, but Conners is now among the betting favorites going into the weekend.
After Thursday’s first round, Conners was tied with Rory McIlroy at -6 as the top players in the tournament but after Friday’s second round, the Canadian is all alone ahead of the rest of the field at -9 after the first two days of action.
On Thursday, Conners carded six birdies with two bogeys, and he eagled the 16th hole on a par 5 for a score of 66 to lead the field along with McIlroy. He finished with an eagle on the same hole in the second round, and he also added a pair of birdies with one bogey on Friday for a 69 score, which ranked as the eighth best golfer on the day.
Conners was one of three Canadians participating in the Arnold Palmer Invitational along with Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin. Hadwin came in with the same odds to win as Conners but shot a 79 on Thursday followed by a 72 on Friday. Taylor shot a 73 on Thursday and a 75 on Friday. Neither survived the cut as they exited the tournament following the first two days.
Conners finished inside the top 10 three times this season but in his last time out, he missed the cut at The Genesis Invitational on Feb. 21. He has one career PGA Tour victory, which occurred at the Valero Texas Open in 2019. Conners participated in this event each of the last two seasons but failed to miss the cut each time.
Saturday’s third round will get started at 7:30 a.m. ET, but Conners will need to wait throughout the morning and get his day started at 1:45 p.m. ET and will be playing alongside Martin Laird. Connors is one stroke ahead of Laird, who’s in second place at -8. Following him is a three-way tie for third place at -7, which includes Lanto Griffin, McIlroy and Viktor Hovland.
Updated Arnold Palmer Invitational Betting Odds
According to a popular United States sportsbook, Conners came into the tournament tied for the 37th best odds to win the event with +12000 odds. After two days, he’s among the favorites to earn the win, though he still has plenty of work to do.
In the latest updated odds heading into the third round, Conners has +650 odds to win the event, which is the fourth best odds in the field. McIlroy is the current betting favorite at +350, followed by Hovland at +450 and Bryson DeChambeau at +600 odds. To round out the top five, Laird is getting +1400 odds to win the tournament.
While Conners does not have that great of odds to come away with an outright victory, oddsmakers expect he will at least be in contention the rest of the way. He is getting +100 odds to finish inside the top five, -270 to finish inside the top 10 and -1100 to crack the top 20 this weekend.
The sportsbook offered odds on which playing partner will finish with a better third round between Conners and Laird. Conners is the favorite to finish better at -115 odds with Laird at +130. If the two competitors finish round 3 with the exact same score, there would be a +750 payout.
Elsewhere on the betting board strictly looking at the third round, Conners is tied for the best odds to be in the lead after the round. He and McIlroy are getting +350 odds to finish atop the leaderboard after Saturday’s third round.
