Corey Conners 1 shot back of lead after 2nd round of RBC Canadian Open

Chants of "Corrr-ayyyy! Cor-ay! Cor-ay! Cor-ay!" to the tune of the famous "Ole!" soccer song followed Corey Conners up to the 18th green during the second round of the RBC Canadian Open in Toronto.

The product of Listowel, Ont., responded well to the chants from hundreds of fans. He two-putted on the challenging green at Oakdale Golf and Country Club to pull within a shot of the lead at the men's national golf championship.

"Lots of chants out there, but definitely that one was new," said Conners with a chuckle. "I'm really embracing the Canadian support."

Conners shot a 3-under 69 on Friday to sit in a tie for second with Taiwan's C.T. Pan, England's Aaron Rai and Tyrrell Hatton at 8-under overall.

WATCH | Conners shoots 3-under 69 in 2nd round:

China's Carl Yuan turned in a 5-under round to sit atop the leaderboard one shot ahead of that group.

"Really happy with the start," said Conners who was tied for the lead after the first round. "It's been a lot of fun out here this week.

Yuan said after his round in the morning wave that his goal is always to have fun out on the course.

"That's my goal coming into the week. That's my No. 1 goal," said Yuan of keeping it light. "Not a result goal, just being in the present, hitting shot by shot and, yeah, being out here trying to have the most fun. All of it."

Conners was in the mix at the PGA Championship in late May and tied for 12th. He said his cool demeanour paid off there and is also keeping him focused at the Canadian Open, which most Canadian players consider a fifth major.

"I would say this week I've been a lot more relaxed than even I was there and I felt like I was quite relaxed at the PGA Championship," he said. "So I'm feeling good about my game and able to