Corey Conners

Conners picked up his second PGA Tour win in 2023 at the site of his first in 2019 at the Valero Texas Open. It's actually a little hard to believe the Canadian went that long between wins given how strong his ball-striking is year in and year out. Conners ended the season going 20-for-25 with 14 top-25 finishes. While he was inside the top-25 in SG: Off-the-Tee, SG: Approach and GIR percentage, Conners was 135th in SG: Around-the-Green and 128th in SG: Putting. Unfortunately that has been what his strokes gained distribution has looked like the majority of his career. Conners is going to be one of the safest options out there, but it's unlikely that he makes much of a leap in earnings giving strokes away both around and on the greens every week.

Conners used a strong T5 showing at the BMW Championship to advance to the Tour Championship for the third time in the last four years. The Canadian had another fantastic ball-striking season, ranking fifth in SG: Off-the-Tee, 16th in SG: Approach, 13th in SG: Tee-to-Green and second in GIR percentage. Conners had a very nice season results-wise, but it feels like he left a lot on the table at the same time given his strokes gained and scoring avergage numbers. His four top-10's and 12 top-25's in 2021-22 were down from eight top-10's and 19 top-25's in 2020-21. If Conners can find a way to become a top-100 putter on the PGA Tour, we could really see his earnings take off going forward given that elite level of ball-striking.

Conners didn't fare all that well during his rookie season in 2018, but he didn't waste his second chance the following season. After a down 2020 season, much was still expected of Conners entering the 2020-21 season and he did not disappoint. Although he failed to pick up a win or even a runner-up, Conners broke the $4 million for the first time in 2020-21. Conners will likely get his first win this season and it's possible that he takes his game to the next level once that happens.

Conners had a break out 2018-19 season where he picked up his first PGA Tour victory and nearly $3 million in earnings. His numbers this past season, while good, weren't exactly on par with his previous season. Considering his rookie season wasn't the best, Conners' upside is still in question. During a normal season, where cap numbers weren't discounted as much, Conners would be a good salary cap selection, but since there are so many great options for the upcoming season, Conners is simply one that should be considered.

Conners' rookie season on the PGA Tour was nothing special. He earned just under $800k and just missed the top-125 on the FedEx list. His second season though, this past season, was exceptional. Not only did he crack the top-125, he actually made it to the TOUR Championship. Conners did so by picking up his first win on the PGA Tour along with a runner-up and a third-place finish. He managed only one additional top-10 after that, but he did close with a nice stretch during the FedEx playoffs. Conners might be the real deal, but there are a lot of guys on the PGA Tour just waiting to do this season, what he did last season. The odds of Conners improving upon his numbers from last season are not high.

In his first full season on the PGA Tour, Conners managed a singular top-10 finish at Colonial on the strength of a career low 63 in the third round. There's definitely some upside for Conners as he also contended at the Valspar Championship and Corales Puntacana Championship, but sputtered to final rounds of 77 and 76 respectively to drop down the leaderboard. Though he earned $728,296 this past year, his solid ballstriking numbers and 20-of-28 made cuts give hope that the youngster will be a mainstay on the PGA Tour for many years ahead.

Conners dragged his feet to barely come away with his PGA Tour card in the Web.com Tour Finals, but nonetheless will enjoy a full schedule this season. Conners has played in just 10 PGA Tour events in his life and made just one cut, so don't expect much from the 25 year old.