Corey Conners among early leaders at RBC Canadian Open, offering glimpse of bright golf future

It wasn't even 8 a.m. before Corey Conners sent a jolt through the crowd at the RBC Canadian Open.

The Listowel, Ont., native's first approach shot of the day (he began on the 10th hole) landed on the fringe to the right of the flag. Slowly, the ball trickled toward the hole, and for a moment it was like each member of the crowd had just taken a shot of espresso in unison.

The ball stopped a couple of feet short. If you'd hit that shot, your putter would have stayed in your bag. Conners, the 31-year-old two-time PGA Tour winner, calmly walked up to the elevated green and tapped the ball in.

It was the first of five birdies for Conners on Thursday at Toronto's Oakdale Golf and Country Club, where he shot a 5-under 67 to put himself in the mix to become the first Canadian to win the men's national open since Pat Fletcher in 1954.

England's Aaron Rai and Americans Chesson Hadley and Justin Lower also shot 5-under, while reigning U.S. Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick sat at 4-under. Two-time defending Canadian Open champion Rory McIlroy is 1-under as play continues through the afternoon.

It's the first PGA Tour tournament since Tuesday's surprise announcement that the organization is merging with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, which backs breakaway rival circuit LIV Golf. 

McIlroy was often at the centre of the drama between the leagues. He said after his round alongside England's Justin Rose that it was refreshing to just play golf.

"We started to get in a conversation walking down the first and we're like, 'No, let's stop this. Let's just focus on our golf and we'll say what we want to say when we get inside.' So it was nice to play a round of golf and focus on something else for those five hours we were out there,"