Golfer Corey Conners is an outlier, whether he’s emerging from a tiny town in Ontario to reach the PGA Tour or rising to the top of the leaderboard after 36 holes at Bay Hill Club and Lodge.
The 29-year-old Canadian entered the Arnold Palmer Invitational ranked 60th in the world. Yet even players behind him in the rankings, namely No. 62 Jordan Spieth and No. 65 Rickie Fowler, were the ones generating pre-tournament buzz and fanfare.
Conners, meanwhile, quietly went out Thursday and carded a 6-under par to tie superstar Rory McIlroy for the first-round lead, and then backed it up with a 69 to end Friday in sole possession of the lead at 9-under 135 total.