Corey Conners

The Canadian will be a fan favorite this week and he gave those fans a show today. Conners piped 11-of-15 fairways  (T6 from the morning wave) and landed 16 GIR (best of the morning wave). That steady striking allowed a stress-free navigation of Oakdale in round one. Conners currently shares the early lead with three other golfers (Aaron Rai, Justin Lower, and Chesson Hadley). If this lead holds then it would be the fifth time holding a first-round lead or co-lead for Conners. The most recent instance came at the 2023 Valero Texas Open which he went on to win. 

The Canadian pelted 13 GIR which was tied for fifth-best among the early wave. That steady striking allowed his putter to shine, gaining 3.1 strokes putting at press time. "I felt like I was seeing the lines really well and hit a lot of really solid putts." Highlights included a 25-footer at the fifth and a 30'5" birdie blast at the 15th. Conners is playing in his fifth PGA Championship with a T17 in 2021 as the only other notable finish. He raced out to a first-round lead that week and he's right in the hunt this week at Oak Hill Country Club. Conners has two wins on his PGA TOUR resume but still searching for his first top-5 finish in a major.

Conners played in the final group alongside 54-hole leader Patrick Rodgers and Matt Kuchar. It was Conners who walked away with the blemish-free round. "I've drawn from some of the experience I had here and really happy with the way that I hit the ball and got myself in position. Drove it great, hit a lot of really good iron shots. Yeah, just kept things simple, felt relaxed." Conners gained a whopping 9.5 strokes on approach throughout the week. He got the job done with four bogeys and a pair of doubles on his card (23 birdies). Conners has now two career PGA TOUR wins with the other also coming at TPC San Antonio (2019 as a Monday Qualifier). 

Conners and Pendrith are two of a record eight rookies on Trevor Immelman's International squad, and the two paired to form the first-ever all-Canadian duo in Presidents Cup history Friday when they faced Billy Horschel and Max Homa in the day's final Fourballs match. But that footnote is the lone highlight of the week for the friends and former roommates, as each man has gone 0-3 through team play while the Americans have climbed out to an 11-7 lead. Conners has been a particular disappointment, expected to contribute with his world-class ball-striking, but a balky putter has flared up at all the wrong times and doomed his alongside Pendrith and twice with Sungjae Im. Pendrith lost a pair of 1-up matches across the first two days but ran into a buzzsaw Saturday in the form of Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas, who improved to 4-0 while Pendrith and Hideki Matsuyama were the lone International pair who failed to register a point in the afternoon session. Conners and Pendrith are the only players from the 24-man competition who have yet to contribute at least a half-point. There are two more chances for the Canadian flag to fly triumphantly at Quail Hollow, as Conners faces Xander Schauffele while Pendrith drew Tony Finau in Sunday's Singles play.