5 Canadians to watch at St. George's

After two seasons without the country's lone PGA TOUR event, the Canadian Open is finally returning this week at St. George's Golf and Country Club in Toronto.

Since the last Canadian Open, stars like Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes have become regular contenders on TOUR. Here are five players - including the two former Kent State teammates - to keep an eye on this week.

Corey Conners

Conners enters the week as the top-ranked Canadian. The world No. 31 has regularly been in the mix this year, and a second TOUR win is seemingly right around the corner.

The 30-year-old is fourth on TOUR in greens-in-regulation percentage, and he has a well-suited game for St. George's Golf and Country Club, a course that rewards accuracy and iron play.

It'll also be Conners' seventh appearance at the tournament. He first played the event in 2013. Conners has made the cut only one time at the Canadian Open, but he's played in the tournament just once since winning the Valero Texas Open in 2019 and spurring his breakthrough season.

Mackenzie Hughes

The second-highest Canuck in the world rankings, Hughes hasn't played in the Canadian Open since breaking out in 2020.

Unlike Conners, Hughes has found success at the tournament. His best Canadian Open result came in 2018 when he finished in a tie for eighth. He followed it up with a tie for 14th in 2019 when his home city of Hamilton, Ontario, hosted the event.

Hughes, one of the better putters on TOUR, can come up with low scores in Toronto if he can successfully read St. George's greens.

Aaron Cockerill

Since turning professional in 2015, Manitoba's Cockerill will make his first-ever appearance at the Canadian Open. The 30-year-old is currently having a breakthrough season on the DP World Tour after playing a few campaigns on the European tour.

So far this season, Cockerill has achieved his first runner-up and third-place finishes of his career.

Cockerill has already won more earnings so far in this campaign than he did in his past two seasons combined in Europe. He's coming into his first Canadian Open with great momentum.

Adam Hadwin

Out of all the players on this list, the 34-year-old from Abbotsford, B.C., has by far had the best success and most experience at the Canadian Open. Hadwin has three top-10 finishes in 10 starts at the tournament - a tie for seventh, a solo sixth, and a tie for fourth.

The world No. 108 is the third-ranked Canadian behind Conners and Hughes. He owns one TOUR win - the Valspar Championship in 2017 - and has made the FedEx Cup Playoffs in seven consecutive seasons.

Hadwin already has four top 10s this TOUR campaign, including being the low Canadian at the Players Championship in March when he finished in a tie for ninth.

Adam Svensson

Svensson, the fourth-ranked Canadian sitting at No. 184 in the world rankings, is coming off one of his best seasons as a professional.

The 28-year-old grabbed two wins on the Korn Ferry Tour during the 2021 campaign en route to securing the second PGA TOUR card of his career. Since making the jump to professional golf's top level, Svensson has amassed two top-10 finishes and an additional top-25 result. He's currently ranked No. 120 in the FedEx Cup standings.

Svensson has played in five Canadian Opens, with his best finish being a tie for 34th in 2015. Like Hughes, Svensson hasn't played in the tournament since his breakthrough season.