Q. Corey, obviously you had huge crowds with you, not just because you're with Rory, but you're you, the top ranked Canadian. How did it feel out there having the support of the local fans?
COREY CONNERS: It felt great. I haven't been able to play here a couple of years, so it was great to get out there. Had a bit of a shaky start but settled in and had a lot of fun. They were certainly rooting us on. It's a great group to be in and fun to be back home in Canada.
Q. What were you seeing from the course today? There was some pretty high scores out there so far.
COREY CONNERS: If you're not in position, it can bite you. The rough is really thick and penalizing. They had some really tricky pin positions out there, so I found it hard to make birdies. You didn't really want to short-side yourself, so kind of fired away from a couple of the flags.
I felt like it was set up fairly difficult, and it wasn't as wet as I was expecting. The course dried up nicely, so had some run out there.
Q. What was your reaction to the PGA TOUR's suspension of the players over in the LIV Tour?
COREY CONNERS: I don't really have much to say with regards to that. I'm trying to focus on the task at hand this week and trying to put on a good show for the hometown fans.
Q. Is that something -- will you tune into it at least to take a look at what's going on over there? Is that something that would interest you?
COREY CONNERS: Certainly not this week. Like I said, I'm just going to try and get the game sharpened up this afternoon and get ready to play tomorrow. Yeah, we'll see what happens. I have a lot of faith that the TOUR's making the right decisions. Yeah, just focus on my game out here.
Q. How big is the group of friends and family that have made the trip here to watch you this week?
COREY CONNERS: Pretty huge, I think. Just tried to keep my focus inside the ropes today, but saw a number of familiar faces. I think most of the time the people who made the trek here to come watch is pretty cool.
Q. This week is like a prep week for the U.S. Open, the week before a major, obviously it's a little bigger than that for you. What do you think of the course preparation this week getting you ready for next?
COREY CONNERS: I think it's going to be a great preparation. The rough is long and challenging here as it will be next week at the U.S. Open. It's a great preparation. Both are kind of old school, traditional style golf courses. Obviously not getting too far ahead of myself, but I think it's a great preparation.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports