Corey Conners Finally Makes His Pro Debut on Australian Soil — And He's Bringing a Presidents Cup Agenda With Him

A Decade-Long Wait Ends in November

Conners has plenty of history in Australia, just none of it as a professional. Back before he turned pro, he made a trip down under that included a win at the Lake Macquarie International Amateur and a quarterfinal run at the adidas Australian Amateur Championship. Now, more than ten years later, he's finally returning to compete for the Joe Kirkwood Cup, becoming the first international player confirmed for the field when the BMW Australian PGA Championship runs November 26-29 at The Lakes.

The Sydney venue was locked in as host earlier this year, marking just the fourth time the tournament has been staged there — and the first time the Championship has been held in New South Wales in almost 30 years.

"I'm really excited to head back to Australia later this year," Conners said. "I played a couple of big amateur events there just over a decade ago now, loved my time in Australia and always wanted to return at some point. There's no better time than this year to make it happen, especially with the Presidents Cup coming up in Australia in just a couple of years. I'd love to be part of The Internationals squad when that comes around."

A Résumé That Speaks for Itself

At 34 and ranked No. 48 in the world, Conners isn't showing up as a novelty booking. He's a two-time PGA TOUR winner, taking the Valero Texas Open in both 2019 and 2023, and he's represented Canada at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics as well as the Presidents Cup for the International Team in 2022 and 2024.

His 2026 season has been steady at the highest level too — he was one of a small handful of players to make the cut at all four men's majors this year, and he closed out The Open with a T14 finish. That kind of consistency is exactly the profile Australian golf officials have been chasing to boost the tournament's global standing.

"I've heard great reports on the big professional events down there from the Australian guys and the other PGA TOUR players who have played in them, and I've seen plenty of highlights as well," Conners said. "The two courses look awesome, we're out of the northern hemisphere winter and I know Australians love their golf so all the ingredients are there to create great golf tournaments. It should be two weeks to remember and hopefully I'll get to have some success as well."

Two Weeks, Two Marquee Venues

Conners isn't stopping in Sydney. He'll follow the BMW Australian PGA Championship straight into the Capital.com Australian Open the following week at Kingston Heath, giving him back-to-back marquee starts on Australian soil for the first time in his career.

PGA of Australia CEO Gavin Kirkman framed Conners' commitment as a signal of the tournament's growing pull on the international circuit.

"As an established world-class player, Corey is exactly the type of competitor we are looking to attract to our Championship," Kirkman said. "He is a proven winner and a consistent competitor at the very highest level. His commitment to coming to Sydney underlines the established prestige of the event and we anticipate further high-profile announcements for the tournament in the near future."

NSW Minister for Sport and Minister for Jobs and Tourism Steve Kamper leaned into the tourism angle, calling Conners' commitment a boost for the state's visitor economy ahead of a stacked international field.

"Securing a player of Corey Conners' calibre is a huge win for the BMW PGA Australia Championship and a clear sign of how far this tournament has come on the world stage," Kamper said. "Sydney in November will be the place to be, with Corey joining a stacked field of international golfers and thousands of fans ready for what promises to be one of the standout events on the global golfing calendar. Tournaments like this are a major drawcard for our visitor economy, and having world-class players competing here gives us the perfect platform to show off everything the Harbour City has to offer."

The 2026 BMW Australian PGA Championship carries backing from the New South Wales Government through Destination NSW.

Tournament Overview

Category	Detail
Tournament	BMW Australian PGA Championship
Venue	The Lakes Golf Club, Sydney
Dates	November 26-29, 2026
Trophy	Joe Kirkwood Cup
Last NSW hosting	Nearly 30 years ago
Times hosted at The Lakes	Fourth time
Conners' world ranking	No. 48
PGA TOUR wins	2 (Valero Texas Open, 2019 & 2023)
2026 major cuts made	All four
2026 Open Championship finish	T14
Presidents Cup appearances	2022, 2024 (International Team)
Olympic appearances	Tokyo, Paris
Following week	Capital.com Australian Open, Kingston Heath

The Raw Take

This is a smart booking on two fronts. Getting a player who's made the cut at every major this year and finished T14 at The Open gives the BMW Australian PGA Championship instant credibility beyond just "another name on the entry list" — Conners isn't a fading star cashing an appearance check, he's playing some of the best golf of his career right now. Pairing that with the Kingston Heath Australian Open the following week turns this into a genuine two-week swing worth international attention, not a one-off stopover.

The Presidents Cup angle is the real story here though. Conners isn't shy about saying he wants a seat on the 2028 Internationals team when Australia hosts, and showing up early to get comfortable on courses he'll likely see again is exactly the kind of long-game thinking that separates serious competitors from tourists. If the PGA of Australia lands a few more names of this caliber before November, Sydney's return to the rotation is going to look like one of the smarter scheduling moves in recent memory.