Saunders, armed with Arnold Palmer’s old putter, within striking distance in West Virginia

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PALM HARBOR, Fla. – What a difference a few days can make. On Monday, Corey Conners made an unsuccessful attempt to qualify for the Valspar Championship. He was leading the tournament when he walked off the course Thursday afternoon. Conners’ 71 on Monday at Southern Hills Plantation in nearby Brooksville, Florida, was six shots too high to earn a spot in this week’s PGA TOUR stop, but the rookie learned later that day that he got in the Valspar field after another player withdrew. Conners made five birdies and just one bogey on a difficult day at Innisbrook Resort’s Copperhead Course. Cool, breezy conditions played to the strengths of the Canadian who attended college at Ohio’s Kent State, where he was teammates with PGA TOUR winner Mackenzie Hughes. “I don’t overpower it, but everything is really solid,� Conners said. “I definitely like the challenge and like golf courses that put a premium on the fairway and hitting the green.� He missed just four fairways Thursday, but his short game saved him several times as he hit just 11 greens. “It was a lot of tap-in pars and made some birdies,� said Conners, who needed just 24 putts Thursday, ranks 133rd in the FedExCup. He has made the cut in nine of 10 starts this season, but hasn’t finished better than T29. He was a two-time U.S. Amateur semifinalist (2013, ’14), losing to Gunn Yang in the 2014 final. OBSERVATIONS Rory McIlroy’s struggles continued Thursday at the Valspar Championship. He three-putted the last hole for 74, his fifth consecutive over-par round. It’s the first time since April 2010 that McIlroy has had more than four consecutive over-par rounds on TOUR. He’s 12-over par in his past five rounds. He didn’t hole a birdie putt Thursday. His lone birdie was a holed bunker shot on his 16th hole. Some big names struggled down the stretch Thursday. Patrick Reed, who lost a playoff to Jordan Spieth here in 2015, reached 4 under with four holes remaining, but played Nos. 15-18 in 4 over par. Sergio Garcia was 3 under par with six holes remaining, but played his final six holes in 2 over to shoot 70. Adam Scott, who played alongside Garcia, also reached 3 under on his back nine before signing for a 70. Scott took his first lesson from instructor George Gankas, an Instagram sensation with more than 92,000 followers. Chris Couch, who’s making his first PGA TOUR start since 2012, shot 71. The 44-year-old birdied his first hole, then made 16 consecutive pars before bogeying the 18th. He has four events to earn $311,662 to retain exempt status for the remainder of the season. Steve Stricker, who picked up his first PGA TOUR Champions victory last week at the Cologuard Classic, opened the Valspar Championship with a 1-under 70.

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