After great year, Conners looking for more in 2022

Bob Weeks

TSN Senior Reporter

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With the exception of getting into the winner’s circle, Corey Conners did a lot of great things last year.

He posted 19 finishes in the top 25, up from 10 the year prior. He had eight top-10 finishes, seven more than 2020. He ended the season 32nd on the Official World Golf Ranking and placed 22nd on the FedEx Cup standings, both career highs.

It was, by all accounts, a remarkable season. Yet when asked what he hopes to accomplish in 2022, Conners made it clear he is not satisfied with past results.

“I still have lots of room to improve,” he said from his home in Florida. “Just going to keep working hard at my game. The last couple of years, all the work has paid off.”

Indeed, it has. While Canadian men’s golf is as deep as it has ever been, right now Conners is the best of the group. He is in contention more often than not and has challenged for his second PGA Tour win on numerous occasions.

His name is also showing up on leaderboards at major championships. He was in the thick of things on Sunday at both the Masters and Open Championship and held the opening-round lead at the PGA Championship.

“I had hopes going into the weekend a number of times,” he stated, “but I wasn’t able to string four rounds together.”

His strong play and regular appearance on leaderboards have also heightened his notoriety well outside the borders of his hometown of Listowel, Ont. Canadian golf fans know him and so, too, do those in the United States and beyond.

His peers have also gushed over the silky, smooth tempo of his swing and his ability to hit fairways and greens at an almost robotic pace.

“What impresses me most about Corey’s swing is his consistent rhythm,” said Webb Simpson, who came to know Conners through their association with RBC, which sponsors both players. “From a wedge to a driver, he seems to have the same rhythm through his bag. I think this is one of the reasons he’s so consistent week to week with his ball striking. Good rhythm is underrated.”

Consistency is definitely an asset, but Conners wants to get into the winner’s circle more. To do that, one of the focuses of his off-season is to get more aggressive when he is in the hunt. That means a combination of an uncompromising mindset as well as an attacking mode with his shots.

Last year, after many rounds, Conners debriefed with coach Derek Ingram and caddie Danny Sahl, trying to analyze how things could have been better. In addition, Conners kept a journal of his rounds, noting the good and bad of the day’s work.

“I think I have more trust in my game now, but I can still improve on that,” he admitted. “And I want to be more prepared for when mistakes happen and also keep the pedal down when I’m playing well.”

For Ingram, who first started working with Conners when he was on the national amateur team, the gradual improvement is nothing surprising or new.

“When he was a junior, by the time he was 18, he was one of the best junior golfers in the world,” said Ingram. “Same thing when he was an amateur, he became one of the best in the world. Now you’re seeing it on the PGA Tour. Every year, he’s getting better and more comfortable. It’s that natural progression again.”

In addition to more aggressive shots, Conners wants to get a little more fire in his belly when he’s contending this season. Most days, he appears calm and collected on the course. Although he says there is more going on inside than shows, a Tiger-like first pump doesn’t seem to be in his arsenal just yet.

At the urging of Ingram, Conners is also reaching out to other top players for practice rounds where he can learn from them as well gain confidence. It’s golf osmosis of a sort.

“I’ve been pushing him to get out of his comfort zone,” Ingram stated. “I want him to play with other top players and see how they handle themselves and how they practice and what they do.”

To that end, Conners has played pre-tournament rounds with Simpson and Bubba Watson, both major champions.

“I think for him to make the next jump comes down to more chances on Sunday,” said Simpson. “When he does get the job done more on Sundays, I think that will give him the confidence he needs to be a consistent top-15 player in the world for a long time.”

On the physical side of his game, Conners continues to work on his wedges and putting. Last season he made some changes with his putter, going to a left-hand low grip and working hard on getting better reads on the greens. That paid off as he went from 181st in Strokes Gained: Putting to 112th, still not great but better than it was.

Around the greens, he is looking for consistency with his wedges, which continue to need improvement.

“Overall, I had more good weeks than bad,” he said of his chips and pitches last season. “I like the progress I’m making and I’m getting more confident but it’s clearly a focus of my preparations.”

There are a number of reasons to grind it out over the break but the main one is that Conners has set his sights on making the International Team for the Presidents Cup.

He chats regularly with captain Trevor Immelman and has attended several team dinners intended on building camaraderie among potential international players. Immelman, who is on tour frequently for his duties as a commentator on CBS, is another of those who have become fans of the Canadian’s game.

“Sometimes when I go out and walk some holes with him, I think he’s like a robot or a machine,” said Immelman. “Every shot is just this beautiful baby draw. And it’s a real strength. In the last couple of years, he’s become one of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour. I think for him right now it’s just trying to find that secret sauce of blending his whole game together to where he can win often. I think that’s possible for him.”

Conners would like not only to play on the 2022 Presidents Cup team but also in ’24 when the event will be a home game, hosted at Royal Montreal. He also has all four majors circled on his calendar as well as a return to Canada for the RBC Canadian Open in June.

At the moment, however, most of his attention is on his wife, Malory, and the imminent arrival of their first child.

“It will be different, for sure,” Conners said of fatherhood. “It will definitely give us a different perspective on life.”

Malory travels almost every week with her husband and walks almost every round, taking in the highs and lows. The two who were high school sweethearts back in Listowel plan to continue that once their child is old enough to travel.

A baby to celebrate, a wife to cherish and a golf game that appears to be getting better and better, life has been pretty good and would appear to be getting better for Corey Conners.