Making his name
Unknown Connelly tied for third at British Open
SOUTHPORT, England — If you never had heard of Austin Connelly before this week’s British Open, you aren’t alone.
Connelly is a 20-year-old friend of Jordan Spieth’s who lives in Dallas. He is coached by Spieth’s coach, Cameron McCormick, represented by Spieth’s agent and has citizenship in Canada through his father, who is Canadian, and because he has summered in Nova Scotia.
He also is tied for third place at the British Open, his first career major, entering Sunday’s final round at 5-under after shooting 66 on Saturday at Royal Birkdale.
One person who was not surprised at Connelly’s sudden success is Spieth.
“I’ve known Austin for quite a while, played quite a bit of golf with him,’’ Spieth said. “He’s got a great head. He’s got a killer instinct. He’s a guy that’s not afraid of the moment, as you can tell. He’s got a day [Sunday] where not only can he win a major championship, but it can do a lot for him in a lot of different areas.
“I think he embraces that. That would scare a lot of people off. And I wouldn’t expect that. It’s cool to see.’’
Connelly said he “never felt nerves from the first tee on, which is surprising to me.”
“I was very calm,’’ he said. “This something I’ve been dreaming about and picturing myself here for a long time. It’s really just nice to be here.’’
➤ Rory McIlroy looked like he was ready to make a huge move Saturday, with three birdies on his first five holes pushing him to 4-under. But he could not keep it going, finishing at 2-under after shooting 69.
“I’ve always been good when I get off to fast starts being able to keep it going, and I didn’t [Saturday],’’ McIlroy said. “I needed to, that’s the disappointing thing. I definitely feel like [Saturday] was an opportunity lost to get right in the mix going into [Sunday].’’ ➤ It has been quite a week for Tommy Fleetwood, the Southport native who used to sneak onto Birkdale as a kid with his dad. Considered one of the tour- nament favorites going in, Fleetwood looked headed for an early exit after an opening-round 76.
But he rallied Friday with a 69, one of just seven rounds under par for the day. On Saturday, he shot a 4-under 66.
➤ Gregg Pettersen was in his element Saturday morning in that he was at the golf course. That, however, is where any normalcy ended. The Royal Birkdale club pro was asked to play as a “marker’’ in Saturday’s British Open third round.
With an odd number of players having made the cut, Pettersen played in the first group with
Shaun Norris of South Africa. Norris shot a 5-under 65 and Petterson shot 75.
Pettersen said he got the call asking him if he was interested about 10 p.m. on Friday.
“I just actually just left the building, so just walking back to my car ... nice phone call to have,’’ he said.