McCarthy: How Corey Conners Takes the Next Steps in the PGA Championship

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Tulsa, Oklahoma-Corey Conners is as consistent as his golf swing.

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At the highest level of professional golf, there are many big personalities, big teams and, of course, big ego. Reaching the pinnacle of such a very difficult and terrible individual sport seems to require almost some degree of self-absorption.

Canada’s top golfers are none of these, and all of this makes Connors incredibly unique. The exact opposite. He’s the guy your daughter wants to bring home for dinner: humble, polite, calm yet charming and entertaining.

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At the Wells Fargo Championship two weeks ago, Connors more or less apologized for jumping out of the way of the fateful Marc Leishman Shank from a greenside bunker sailing towards the pond.

“I wish I didn’t move because the ball nailed me in the middle of the leg and he had a putt from the middle of the green instead of being in the water,” he said after the round.

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The amiable Canadian will launch 10 consecutive major championships this week at the PGA Championship in Southern Hills, Tulsa, Oklahoma. He finished in the Top 10 three times in a row at the Masters and won the T17 in last year’s PGA Championship. Listowel in Canada has definitely arrived. He is equipped with one of the sweetest swings on the PGA Tour, so few are good at finding fairways and greens. So he becomes a threat every time he tees it up.

“I can’t see the golf course and I don’t think the fairways and greens will be beneficial,” Connors said Wednesday. “But I’m thinking especially here, especially in the major championships.”

Speaking of majors, Connors is pleased to be a prominent player on the tour. He also said that while most American fans recognize his name and are happy to see it swing, the Top 10 is not the final goal.

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“I’m certainly very proud to be in the mix and play well on some big stages, but I definitely want more,” he said. “I want to win the majors someday.”

There is no doubt that Connors has a golf swing to do that. At a glance at the World Golf Rankings (Connors 32nd), it’s easy to see that there is a big premium for world-class ball hits. And no one makes it look as easy as Connors.

“When I was a kid, I focused on my tempo, and I’m sure I’m really grateful now,” he said. “It’s not necessarily overthinking or overworking. It’s just rooted in it. It’s definitely great to have.”

Obviously a lot of effort is needed to make a golf swing look comfortable, but Connors caddy Danny Saar tinkers with the golfer’s acclaimed move by Connors and his coach Derek Ingram. I confirmed that I had never seen it turning.

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“Nothing has changed since we started with him last January,” Sahl told Postmedia. “He never really thought about his swing, Derek and he have a great job of managing it off-week, and he certainly has the privilege of working together.”

Carefree personality and carefree swing are certainly great attributes of the PGA Tour, but with such consistent success following his groundbreaking victory at the 2019 Valero Texas Open, Connors will be able to play his game at any time. Next level? And what do you need to get there?

A common answer is always, working on his short game and his putting, but the truth is that he’s doing it and it’s working. Connors finished last season after consistently losing strokes in the green field early in his career-with .008 strokes-getting putting and becoming almost exactly average on the PGA Tour. rice field. Best in all hit categories. Throughout 43 measurement rounds this season, Connors has actually scored .112 strokes against the green field, ranked 81st and better than average on a flat stick.

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Following the third Top 10 at the Masters in April, I asked the Connors if they were approaching the green jacket. When he told me he wanted so, but the top ten are far from winning. So I asked him on Wednesday what he needed to do to fill that gap.

“It definitely has a big spiritual element,” he said. “Being close to the top of the leaderboard made me more comfortable, but it’s certainly very difficult to win.”

One thing that seems to be common to all major champions is their fierce competitiveness. It’s quite possible that Connors has that fire, but it’s hidden by his general affection and naturally calm nature. Saar confirmed on Wednesday as well, saying he was seeing the fiery sides of his player inside the rope. Connors says this is what he thinks and is actually working on, which sounds pretty Canadian, but adopts it.

“I think Danny and I did a good job of staying at that moment, and I think what I wanted to increase was definitely my fire on the course,” Connors said. “In certain situations where you find it okay to be a little upset or a little frustrated, you may be a little too relaxed, but when it works, it’s okay.”

Don’t expect to see golf clubs thrown or giant fist pumps thrown at Southern Hills this week.