CALEDON, Ont. – This is always a big week on the PGA Tour schedule for the Canadian contingent, but it’s an even more important one this particular year for some of the long-time top-ranked Canadians in the game.
After the RBC Canadian Open, there are just four full-field events left before the FedExCup Playoffs — not including signature events, majors, and opposite field tournaments — so whether they like it or not, and even though it’s just the second week of June, every single tournament result matters in a big way.
Sudarshan Yellamaraju, a rookie on the PGA Tour this year, actually leads the Canadian crew in the FedExCup standings, sitting No. 48, with Nick Taylor not far behind at No. 52. Yellamaraju, who learned the game from YouTube and skipped college to turn pro early, had two top-10 finishes earlier this season, including a tie for fifth at The Players Championship. He rode those results into four signature events and will tee it up at his second major of the year next week at the U.S. Open.
Behind him sits Taylor, the 2023 winner of the Canadian Open, whose triumph is now forever etched into the logo of the championship. Taylor has been consistent if unspectacular so far this season — he’s missed just one cut but also has just one top-10 finish — and while he was firmly in the mix at the PGA Championship after 63 holes, he stumbled mightily into the house Sunday at Aronimink Golf Club and didn’t even record his best-ever major finish, as he ended up tied for 26th.
Taylor said that particular week was a bit of a microcosm of his year as a whole.
“I feel like a lot of good stuff, a lot of pretty decent results, a lot of consistent play (this year). There’s been a lot of tournaments I feel like I’ve left disappointed, not really finishing off with the result that I wanted,” Taylor said. “But I’ve been in contention a handful of times, I saw things there, I feel like I’m building towards a good stretch for the end of the season.”
Taylor, who was the low Canadian a year ago at the Canadian Open after finishing tied for 13th (he shot 66-65 to open the week and was tied for third heading into the weekend, knows that it’ll take a similar kind of effort to be in the mix again in 2026. He said he “played really solid” to start last year, particularly with the driver.
“I think (Saturday) I eagled the last, but I think I had 16 pars and a bogey leading up to that, so it was just kind of a stalled-out round,” Taylor said. “I do have a lot of good memories coming back here, but for me, being in the fairways is definitely key, especially with the rough being up a little more this year.”
The rest of the usual Canadian suspects have some work to do this week and through the early summertime if they hope to make the FedExCup Playoffs and re-earn their way into the big-money and big-points signature events next season. Corey Conners is currently No. 83 in the standings, while rookie AJ Ewart is No. 85, Taylor Pendrith is No. 92, and Mackenzie Hughes is No. 117.
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It’s been a fairly curious year for Conners in particular, who has seen some of his usual strengths not be as tight through 2026. Conners sits 79th in strokes gained: off the tee (he was 24th in the same stat last year), and after a career-high ranking a year ago, he is back up to 126th on the PGA Tour in strokes gained: putting. Add it all up, and he’s 106th in strokes gained: total, 80 spots worse than a year ago.
“My game’s been unusually inconsistent, I would say, this year. I’ve had some good stretches, some not-so-good stretches. Some weeks have found it for a couple of the days and then lost it for the others,” Conners admitted Wednesday.
Conners, who remains Canada’s top-ranked male golfer in the world, said he’s going to try through the summertime to focus on “playing free” and not overthinking things.
“I feel like I’ve reacted a little more to some mistakes and it hasn’t quite been the answer this season so far,” he said. “A little disappointing results for me, but looking forward to trying to get things on a good track here this week and for the rest of the summer.”
Conners and Taylor have long been part of the Canadian golfing fabric at the highest level, with Taylor, of course, hitting the mountaintop three years ago at Oakdale Golf and Country Club. They’ve been plenty used to how this particular week works from start to finish.
But despite the extra requests and the laser-like focus on time management Monday through Wednesday, there is still a golf tournament to be played, and for most of the Canadians in the field — minus, of course, the amateurs hoping to learn plenty about golf at the highest level — this is a huge week at home for their seasons as a whole.
“We’re kind of stars for the week, which is abnormal for us,” Taylor said with a laugh. “The crowds were great (last year), so I’m hoping for more of the same the next couple days and hopefully turn that into some good play and play well on the weekend.”
It’s a good week to have a good week for Canada’s best on the PGA Tour.