corey conners opened his round at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass with a birdie on the 10th and later dropped three birdies to move into the top-10 at 3-under as the first round continued. That move underlines his attempt to turn early momentum into a productive week after a season start he and others have described as short on form and steady results.
Corey Conners at TPC Sawgrass
Conners’ record at TPC Sawgrass is a clear advantage: he trails only Hideki Matsuyama and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler in strokes gained at the venue since 2019 and posted back-to-back top-15 finishes, including a tie for sixth last year. The figures point to why his 3-under showing in the first round matters—history at this course has produced his best major-week form and two strong Players performances suggest TPC fits his game.
Canadian field at The Players
Six Canadians — Mackenzie Hughes, Taylor Pendrith, Nick Taylor, Corey Conners, Sudarshan Yellamaraju and A. J. Ewart — are in the field competing for a share of the $25 million purse and the $4. 5 million winner’s check. Hughes and Pendrith both finished their opening rounds at two-over after early under-par spurts; Taylor finished at two-over after an afternoon that included a double-bogey start and a double-bogey on 18. The pattern suggests the Canadian contingent has mixed starts, with Conners’ 3-under among the stronger early results and the rookies still finding their footing.
Conners’ putting and rankings
Corey Conners remains Canada’s top-ranked male golfer at 39th in the Official World Golf Ranking, but he has acknowledged a drop in his putting this season — he is about 100 spots worse in the putting category than a year ago and even tried a different putter for one week, playfully calling it the “putt-ee. ” The figures point to a specific cause for his uneven early-season results: if Conners can recover last year’s putting form that helped him finish tied for fourth in the FedEx Cup standings in 2025, his ball-striking and TPC record make him a credible contender this week.
Still, Conners’ season-best result so far came at the Sony Open in Hawaii, where he tied for 24th, and his career résumé includes two wins at the Valero Texas Open and several strong finishes during the Florida swing. The pattern suggests that when Conners hits his stride at this time of year he often carries that momentum into spring events.
Across the rest of the field, the two PGA Tour rookies from Canada, Sudarshan Yellamaraju and A. J. Ewart, began their action together and experienced contrasting starts: Yellamaraju double-bogeyed the 5th but birdied the 14th, while Ewart was five-over through 10. The detail highlights how early holes at TPC Sawgrass can swing a round rapidly for less-experienced players.
What remains open this week is whether Conners can translate his strong statistical history at TPC Sawgrass into a first Players Championship title; he and the other five Canadians are all seeking a first win at this event. Play has already seen interruptions from weather, and that uncertainty will influence whether Conners’ opening surge proves decisive or a promising start that needs more rounds to confirm.
