Camera equipment is supposed to document sports, not interfere with them. But sometimes, that goes the other way. The latest case comes from Canadian golfer Corey Conners, who withdrew ahead of the final round of the U.S. Open Sunday. That withdrawal came after post-round comments from his caddie Saturday, which indicated Conners hurt himself Thursday from striking camera cable, then reaggravated that injury during his third round:
According to caddie Danny Sahl, Corey Conners hurt his wrist on Thursday when a bunker shot caught the cable of a tv camera hidden in the lip. He re-injured it today while swinging at a plugged ball in a bunker on the 11th hole. After his round he went directly in for treatment.
— Bob Weeks (@BobWeeksTSN) June 14, 2025
What’s particularly interesting about this injury is that this U.S. Open marked NBC’s full debut of updated wireless bunker cams from NEP Group, which are 3D-printed to look like sprinklers and don’t need those cables to send their footage to the truck. Those cameras were tested in the background at the Players Championship in March, but used on the broadcast for the first time here.
Joe Lemire’s Sports Business Journal story on the new bunker cameras said “There will be three at the U.S. Open when there typically would only be one or maybe two when it was wired.” It’s unclear if there were still older-style wired cameras in other bunkers here or if Conners’ injury came from hitting something other than a cable. In any case, the shift towards these wireless cameras (which are expected to be used on several further NBC and CBS broadcasts) does seem positive for avoiding this problem going forward.
Conners’ withdrawal Sunday is certainly unfortunate for him, and the reaggravation of his injury Saturday played a big role in that. He didn’t mention the injury in interviews after his first round Thursday, where he shot a 72. He shot a 74 Friday and another 72 Saturday, but that third round saw him make three early birdies and then four bogies down the stretch, including three from 11 on (where he took time out for medical attention, which he only received heading to the 12th hole):
Playing partner Michael Kim also shouted out Conners’ toughness after that round:
It’s certainly unfortunate to see an athlete injured from a run-in with camera equipment or camera personnel, something that does happen from time to time. As of now, Conners (who has five top-10 PGA Tour finishes this season and is ninth in the FedEx Cup standings) is still in the field for next week’s Travelers’ Championship, but that could change. We send our best wishes to him as he recovers.