Posted On: Monday, April 15, 2019
Corey Conners participated in a 54-hole scramble at Ainsdale Golf Course near Kincardine in 2014. From left are, Mike Conners (Corey's father), Kathy Mackay, Corey Conners, Joey Rettinger, Ainsdale's pro at the time, and Al Mackay, who owned Ainsdale along with his wife Kathy at the time.
Wow, what a Masters!
It was so much fun watching Tiger win his 15th Major Championship.
But it was also great watching Canadian Corey Conners doing well at Augusta National.
What you may not know is Conners has some connections to the BruceGreySimcoe area.
He grew up in Listowel, just outside of the BruceGreySimcoe region, and played some of his junior golf at BlackHorse golf course in the Kincardine area when his family vacationed at nearby Fishermen’s Cove.
He also played in tournaments in the area, including a 54-Hole Scramble at Ainsdale Golf Course in 2014 with his father Mike.
Mike and his brother Steve have also played in spring and fall events at Whispering Hills Golf Club near Hanover and Mike won First Low Net in the 2010 Fall Field Day.
The Kincardine tournament was held the same year as Corey finished runner-up in the U.S. Amateur championship - a result that qualified him for the 2015 Masters.
Playing as an amateur, he shot 80-69 at Augusta National and missed the cut.
His route to this year’s Masters was a whole lot different and pretty incredible. He Monday qualified for the Valero Texas Open by sinking a 20-foot putt on the 18th hole to get into a 6-for-one spot playoff which he won with a birdie on the first hole.
Then he became only the 5th player in PGA Tour history to win an event after Monday qualifying.
And his final round was one of the wildest winning rounds ever seen on the PGA Tour.
He carded four birdies on the first five holes, then stumbled with 4 consecutive bogeys. But rather than let the wheels fall off, he bounced back with 6 birdies over the final 9 holes to shoot 66 and claim his first PGA Tour victory.
The win gave him the final spot in the field for the 83rd Masters and, playing in the first group, he got a chance to watch Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player hit the ceremonial tee shots that traditionally kick off the first major of the year.
On his way back to the clubhouse, the 79-year-old Nicklaus congratulated Conners on his victory at the Valero Texas Open.
"That felt pretty special," Conners told CBC Sports. "It's cool that Jack Nicklaus knows who I am."
He briefly held the lead at Augusta on the first day and his opening round included an eagle on the 15th hole, giving him two crystal glasses to commemorate the occasion.
Over the first three days, he shot rounds of 70-71-71 and was sitting at -4 to start his final round.
However, like several golfers - including 2nd place finisher Brooks Koepka and 5th place finisher Francesco Molinari - he fell victim to the tricky 12th hole.
He rinsed two balls in Rae’s Creek and his triple-bogey 6 wrecked what was shaping up to be a decent round. He finished the day with a 76 (+4) and ended up at even par for the tournament.
He finished tied for 46th and collected $37,950 in winnings.
But the experience was priceless.
“It was an amazing experience,” he told the media afterwards. “I had an awesome time. It was so much fun to be out here. Incredible place. Great week. Nice to play all four days here. It’s been a great treat to be here and hopefully I’ll be back many times in the future.”