NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. — There is something missing on golf leaderboards these days. It wasn't long ago that the Canadian flag, or even two or three of them, would pop onto the first page of PGA Tour leaderboards on a weekly basis. That hasn't been the case much in 2026 as the PGA Championship is set to begin at Aronimink Golf Club outside Philadelphia.
Although many recreational golfers are just dusting their clubs off from a long winter in the garage, the PGA Tour season is past its halfway point and the regular cast of characters from north of the border have been unusually quiet leading into the year's second major.
Corey Conners' Struggles
Corey Conners has been the most consistent Canadian on tour in recent years. One of the world's best and most consistent ball-strikers, the Listowel, Ont., native seems to live on leaderboards, but he hasn't posted a top-10 this year. "The game has felt different from day to day more so this year than other years," Conners said at Aronimink ahead of the PGA Championship. "I haven't been as consistent or as steady. My good stuff hasn't quite been as good," he added.
Conners has seen his world ranking drop 20 spots to 50th since the end of 2025. Last season, he had an encouraging year on the greens as he gained strokes against the field putting for the first time in his career, reaching a career-best world ranking of 19th. But so far this year, he has fallen back closer to his average on the greens and is outside the top 100 in the major putting statistics. "You leave the course a lot of days thinking, 'It's a funny game,'" Conners said. "You feel like you're so close to having a great round, and then you walk off a little pissed off at some mediocre stuff or some average golf. But that's kind of how it goes."
Is Canada's Golden Age Fading?
It might be a slight stretch to call this the golden age of Canadians on the PGA Tour, but the group of Conners, Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith — all PGA Tour winners — certainly have solidified Canada's place in men's golf over the past decade. But is there a chance that this golden age is beginning to grey around the edges? The youngest of the group are Conners and Pendrith at 34 years old and Hadwin and Taylor are 38. Two of them aren't in the field this week with Hughes failing to qualify and Hadwin relegated to the Korn Ferry Tour after spending a decade on the PGA Tour. The only Canadian of this group to maintain his ranking is five-time PGA Tour winner Taylor, who is coming into the week off back-to-back top-15 finishes at Signature PGA Tour events.
Pendrith has dropped more than 30 spots to 86th, and Hughes has fallen from 91st to 144th. "I feel like the last couple weeks I've had some good stuff," Pendrith said. "I'm getting more and more comfortable with the putter. I'm driving it well and everything feels good. Just need to put it all together."
Does Conners Need to Make a Change?
It's a safe bet that Conners will regain his usual form, as his elite ball-striking and smooth swing tempo should bode well for a long career of top golf into his 40s. But it is worth wondering whether his consistency could strangely be holding him back from his true potential and regularly contending to win majors. It's hard to want to make any major change when you've spent your career as a top-20 machine. Conners was asked whether an unusually difficult stretch makes him want to rethink anything. "No, not really. I'm just trying to get back to basics a little bit," he said. "I haven't struck the ball with my irons great, so I'm trying to lean on simple things ... If you overcomplicate it, I think it can spiral."
Hope for the Future
While waiting on Canada's familiar names to steady the ship, Canadian PGA Tour rookie Sudarshan Yellamaraju is providing hope for the future. The self-taught 24-year-old, who famously learned the game through YouTube, burst on the scene with a T5 finish at the Players Championship in March. With four top-15 results this year and currently a Canadian-best 38th in the FedEx Cup standings, Yellamaraju is making his major championship debut this week. "I've dreamed of playing in the majors and the biggest tournaments, but I'm just going to go through it like any other tournament," Yellamaraju said. "It is just going to play golf, right? So that's all I'm trying to do," he added.
