Conners sees different PGA Tour
The native of Listowel begins three-week stretch of tourneys at Charles Schwab Challenge
Corey Conners arrived at the Colonial Country Club — after mandatory COVID-19 testing, of course — and was reunited with colleagues he hadn’t seen in months.
“It’s kind of like the first day back to school where you get to see all your friends,” the 28year-old Listowel native said in a phone interview. “It feels great to be back.”
Conners returns to work this week at the Charles Schwab Challenge in Fort Worth, Texas, the first event on the PGA Tour schedule since the coronavirus derailed the season in midMarch after one round of the Players Championship. This week’s $7.5-million (U.S.) tournament, which starts today with a field of 148 golfers, will be played without spectators and family members.
Essential personnel will be kept to a minimum.
“From what I’ve seen, the Tour’s done a fantastic job at making modifications, trying to keep everyone safe, trying to keep the bubble, as they call it, as small as possible,” Conners said.
“The golf course is great and it’s kind of set up like a normal event, we have the scoreboards and the course is kind of roped off. I know it’s different, but they’ve done a good job to kind of make it feel like a normal event.”
As per PGA Tour policy, Conners and his caddie, Kyle Peters, were tested for the coronavirus last week before heading to Texas and again Monday when they arrived at the course to begin preparations. In addition, each of the approximately 1,000 on-site personnel — players, caddies, tour staff, media and volunteers — must undergo thermal scanning each day.
Once on the property, Conners makes a quick stop in the locker room — no milling about, these days — before making his way to a practice range that has been set up with additional space between stations. As well, the two putting greens have extra holes to make it easier for players to remain two metres apart. Players are responsible for their own clubs and must take them back and forth daily between the course and hotel that most participants are calling home for the week.
“They’ve tried to make it as normal as possible,” said Conners, “so give a shout out to tournament director Michael Tothe. He’s a Canadian and he’s done a great job.”
Conners has spent the past three months at his Florida home, making the most of the time off while doing his part in the fight against the global pandemic. There have been boat cruises, workouts and cooking sessions with his wife, Malory, and he’s kept his game sharp while playing with fellow pros Adam Long, Michael Gligic (of Burlington), Ryan Armour, Chase Johnson and others at The Dye Preserve Golf Club in Jupiter.
“All things considered, we’re very fortunate. We’ve tried to be pretty careful with stuff, we didn’t really go out in public at all and tried to keep our interactions to a minimum, but we were able to enjoy our time,” said Conners.
A star-studded field is in the Lone Star State this week, including the top five players in the world rankings — Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks
Koepka, Justin Thomas and Dustin Johnson — and 16 of the top 20.
Conners, No. 66 in the rankings, will hit his first shot today in an 8:56 a.m. grouping with Louis Oosthuizen and Matthew Wolf.
“I’m very happy with my driving and iron play and hopefully I can hit it well and roll in some putts,” said Conners.
As for playing in a tournament with no spectators, Conners said it won’t make much of a difference until something big happens.
“I’m not used to huge crowds following me, it’s normally just a small amount of people, but it will definitely be a little unusual,” he said.
“It’s a great feeling when you roll in a putt and get applause or hit a really good shot and the crowd cheers you on, so I’ll miss that.”
There’s also the matter of having all those extra eyes to assist the players in finding balls that have been hit where they shouldn’t be hit.
“I’m hoping not to do that but people are expecting us to lose more golf balls, not having the manpower or spectators to help us find them,” he said. “I’m trying to keep it on the short grass, it’s easier to find there.”
Conners answered a handful of other queries after wrapping up a day of practice in the Texas heat (34 to 36C all week), including his thoughts on being unable to defend his title at the Valero Texas Open. The Kent State University graduate recorded his first PGA Tour win at the 2019 tournament but this year’s edition was bumped from the schedule because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“I was really looking forward to getting back to Valero, obviously a golf course that I really liked and really sets up well for me,” he said. “Disappointed to not be able to defend my title but I’m looking forward to getting back there in 2021.” á On the cancellation of this year’s RBC Canadian Open, which was supposed to take place this week at St. George’s Golf and Country Club, Conners expressed a similar sentiment.
“The RBC Canadian Open is something I always really look forward to ... my experience last year (in Hamilton), I missed the cut but I got so much support and it’s amazing to feel that and play in front of a lot of fans.”
á On the Masters being played in November, a course he expects to be as challenging as ever.
“I don’t know if the azaleas will be in bloom, that we’re used to seeing at tournament time, so it might be a little bit different visually but it’ll still be amazing.”
á On being away from Listowel since Christmas, with no end in sight.
“I miss everyone at home and hopefully it’s not too long before I can get back there. Right now, (the 14-day quarantine) is a real turnoff.”
á On the possibility of not playing the Listowel Golf Club this year, the course he grew up on and the course that proudly supports him on social media.
“I’m really hoping by the end of the summer or the fall that I’ll be able to get back there. I know they’re in full swing right now and it will be disappointing to not get back there at some point but it’s beyond my control for the time being.”