PGA Tour: Canadians to watch in 2024

Golf is getting bigger and better in Canada, and in 2023, Nick Taylor became the first Canadian to win the Canadian Open since 1954. As a result, there is optimism on the courses up north.

Here we take a look at which Canadians appear best equipped to make an impact on the PGA Tour in the months to come.

Corey Conners

The highest-ranked Canadian going into 2024 is Corey Conners, who is 35th in the world, having reached a peak of 25th after the 2022 Tour Championship.

Conners is one of the most consistent ball-strikers on the PGA Tour - a man who churns out greens in regulation and sets up numerous birdie opportunities - but his attempts to get into the game's elite have been hurt by his work on the greens.

If Conners, who has twice won the Texas Open, has managed to find a solution to his putting problems in the off-season, then he could be a threat for Major honourss.

The 31-year-old has finished in the top ten in the Masters three times and is +6600 to win at Augusta.

Read more: Corey Conners Golfer Profile

Nick Taylor

National hero status was bestowed on Taylor when he ended a nation's long wait for a home-grown winner in the Canadian Open. Taylor holed an enormous eagle putt at the fourth hole of an epic playoff against Tommy Fleetwood to triumph.

The scene was Oakdale Golf and Country Club and when Taylor was lining up his eagle putt from 72 feet, nobody in attendance thought he would make it.

Bedlam ensued when the putt rattled to the bottom of the cup. Adam Hadwin got wrestled to the ground by a security guard amid the celebrations in a case of mistaken identity.

Taylor, a former world number one amateur and three-time PGA Tour champion, will probably see the US Open as his best chance of Major success, with him +10000 to succeed at Pinehurst.

Read more: Nick Taylor Golfer Profile

Adam Hadwin

The clips of Adam Hadwin being tackled to the ground by a confused security guard in the wake of Taylor's Canadian Open triumph quickly went viral, remaining one of the funniest sporting moments of all time.

While Hadwin might be best-known for that moment, he's pretty good on the golf course, too.

Hadwin has only one PGA Tour title to his name - the 2017 Valspar Championship - but he came close in Rocket Mortgage Classic last year when losing to Rickie Fowler in a playoff. He has won twice on the Korn Ferry Tour and was seventh in the 2022 US Open.

Hadwin finished second in his final event of 2023 - the Shriners Children's Open - so the 36-year-old Moose Jaw man will move into 2024 with some confidence.

Read more: Adam Hadwin Golfer Profile

Adam Svensson

The youngest of the Canadians who have fully established themselves on the PGA Tour is Adam Svensson, who turned 30 on New Year's Eve. The British Columbia man won the 2022 RSM Classic in fine style.

Three Korn Ferry Tour titles arrived for Svensson prior to his graduation to the main circuit, so winning has never been an issue for him. He ended last year narrowly outside the world's top 50, but signing off with fifth spot on his RSM Classic title defence was a boost to confidence.

Svensson seems the Canadian most likely to make significant progress in the months to come. A second PGA Tour title this season is possible and the RSM Classic appears to be his favourite event.

Mackenzie Hughes

Short-game ability makes Mackenzie Hughes a threat wherever he tees it up. The Ontario man is brilliant on and around the greens - capable of sticking the ball near the hole from seemingly impossible positions.

Hughes has won twice on the PGA Tour - the 2016 RSM Classic and 2022 Sanderson Farms Championship - and he was heartbroken to miss out on the last Presidents Cup. That event took place in what has become his current city of residence, Charlotte, NC.

This year's Presidents Cup will be a target for Hughes. He starts his campaign, like Conners, Taylor, Hadwin and Svensson, in The Sentry in Hawaii.