Canada's Conners aims to build on top 10 finishes over previous 2 years at Masters
Listowel, Ont., native is 1 of 3 Canadians competing at the event
Corey Conners has been in contention at the Masters the past two years. This week, he's ready to finally don the green jacket.
Conners, from Listowel, Ont., is one of three Canadians competing at Augusta National Golf Club starting on Thursday. He tied for 10th at the event in 2020 and then tied for eighth last year.
"I'm going to have to work hard and try and trust myself out there," said Conners about being in reach of winning his first-ever major this weekend. "But I'm very excited to get back and I'm excited about where my game's at.
Conners finished in a tie for 46th in 2019, his first time playing at the Masters as a professional, his rookie season on the PGA Tour.
He's come a long way since then.
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A 5-under 67 on Sunday helped Conners tie for 35th the Valero Texas Open and hold on to the 32nd spot on the world golf rankings for a second straight week, matching a career best.
His "worst" performance this season was a tie for 40th at the Shriners Children's Open on Oct. 10, when he was 10-under par overall.
"I am just a regular guy from a small town in Canada," said Conners. "I have had some good results, but I feel like there's still a lot more that I'm able to achieve or that I can achieve.
"So I'm going to keep working hard and see where it takes me but never get too far ahead of myself and try not to let my head swell up too big."
Conners played a practice round with Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Mike Weir of Brights Grove, Ont., at Augusta on Tuesday.
Weir, who won in 2003, will be the first Canadian to tee off on Thursday at 8:11 a.m. ET. Hughes is next at 9:39 a.m., and Conners will begin at 12:13 p.m.
The 30-year-old Conners said that watching Weir's win nearly two decades ago is one of his favourite memories as a fan of the sport.
"I was so nervous watching, [Weir] probably felt more comfortable than I did," said Conners. "I always remember back to that moment, seeing him win, and watching every single year from then on.
"When the Masters is on it also kind of signalled that Canadian golf season was about to get started pretty soon."
Out of deference to the Masters, all of the other significant men's and women's tours — the LPGA, Epson Tour, and Korn Ferry Tour — have taken the week off.
Weir, Hughes win Par 3 Contest
As tradition dictates, there is now very bad news to report about Canadians Weir and Hughes.
Neither will win the Masters.
That is, if you believe the superstition — or at least, believe in the history. No player has won the Par 3 Contest and gone on to win the Masters in the same year, a trend that Weir and Hughes will both try to buck when this year's tournament starts Thursday.
WATCH | Weir, Hughes win shortened Masters Par 3 Contest:
Weir and Hughes shared the Par 3 title on Wednesday, both finishing 4 under. Play started late because of the threat of weather and ended early when more inclement weather was approaching the area.
Depending on how you count, Hughes either had three caddies or zero caddies. He carried his own bag, while caddy No. 1 (his wife) kept watchful eyes on caddies No. 2 and No. 3 (their kids).
"My youngest, Cohen, he's 16 months on Monday, so he wanted to get after every ball on the green, heading towards lakes," Hughes said. "So, definitely priority No. 1 was to keep them on grass. Did that."
It was the first Par 3 event at the Masters — the traditional, family friendly Wednesday afternoon prequel to the real thing — since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 events didn't happen because of the pandemic.
There are 11 men who have won both the Masters and the Par-3 Contest — Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Tom Watson, Ben Crenshaw, Raymond Floyd, Vijay Singh, Mark O'Meara, Tommy Aaron, Sandy Lyle, Gay Brewer and Art Wall Jr.
Just never in the same year.
Weir, however, said he didn't believe in the Par 3 winning jinx.
"You come out and you want to hit some good shots and get a good feel and leave a good taste in your mouth," Weir said.
