Corey Conners qualifies for The Open with third-place finish at Arnold Palmer Invitational

Corey Conners fell short of his third PGA TOUR title Sunday at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard, but he didn’t come away empty-handed.

With his third-place finish at Arnold Palmer’s Bay Hill Club & Lodge, Conners qualified for The 153rd Open at Royal Portrush via the Open Qualifying Series. The top finisher at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, not otherwise exempt, earned a spot at Royal Portrush.

“It's fantastic,” Conners said Sunday. “I think it was the only major that I wasn't qualified for yet and it feels awesome to get my spot there. There was a little question mark on my summer travel plans because of that, but I'm excited to get back to Royal Portrush, really liked playing there in 2019.”

Conners made 17 pars in the final round at Bay Hill, hanging around the lead but not able to apply quite enough pressure. After a birdie at the par-5 16th hole Sunday, he closed with two pars to post 9-under 279, two back of Henley’s eventual winning total.

Conners is set for his sixth career start at The Open; his previous best finish is a T15 in 2021 (he missed the cut in 2019 at Royal Portrush). Conners, 33, has played in 24 career major championships, with 14 made cuts including eight top-25 finishes. The Canadian notched three straight top-10s at the Masters from 2020-22; his other top-10 came at last year’s U.S. Open (T9).

Arnold Palmer Invitational winner Russell Henley and runner-up Collin Morikawa were previously exempt for The Open.

The 153rd Open is set for July 17-20 at Royal Portrush, the Northern Irish venue that previously hosted The Open in 2019 (won by Shane Lowry) and 1951 (won by Max Faulkner).