Last to qualify, Corey Conners off to strong start at Masters

The last guy into the Masters left no doubt he deserved his spot.

Corey Conners followed up a thrill at the first tee – a greeting from Jack Nicklaus – with a 2-under 70 that put the Canadian in solid position after the opening round Thursday.

“I feel like I belong,” Conners said.

Playing in the first group of the day, he got a chance to watch 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 after his one and only swing, the 79-year-old Nicklaus congratulated Conners on last weekend’s victory at the Valero Texas Open – the performance that got him into the Masters as the final entrant in the field.

“That felt pretty special,” Conners said. “It’s cool that that Jack Nicklaus knows who I am.”

The 27-year-old native of Listowel, Ont. – a town of 7,530 people located about 160 kilometres west of Toronto -, endured a sluggish start, playing the front nine at 1 over. He was solid off the tee, but a little too cautious on the treacherous greens. Then in the middle of the back side, Conners made his move.

He rolled in back-to-back birdies at the 13th and 14th holes before making eagle at the par-5 15th.

After a booming drive left only 212 yards to the green at the bottom of the hill, Conners launched his approach over the water, the ball coming to a stop just 6 feet past the cup for barely more than a tap-in.

A three-putt bogey at the final hole put a bit of a damper on his day.

But Conners wasn’t complaining.

Not after his improbable journey just to claim a spot in the first major of the year.

Since he’s currently ranked outside the top 125 in the FedEx Cup, Conners had to go through Monday qualifying just to get into the Texas Open. He made a 20-foot birdie at No. 18 to sneak into a six-man playoff for the final berth in the actual tournament. Then, with a birdie at the first extra hole, he eliminated the other five contenders.

With a 10-birdie round on Sunday, Conners captured the first PGA Tour victory of his career – and an invite to Augusta.

Conners certainly understands the enormity of the odds of everything falling into place the way it has.

“Look, I’m a math and stats guy,” he said, standing near the giant magnolia tree that shades the porch of the stately clubhouse. “I know I was very unlikely to be here. I can say with certainly that I didn’t think I would be here, but it worked out very well.”

Conners is off to a much better start than his only other appearance in the Masters.

After qualifying as an amateur in 2015, he opened with an 80 that left him no real chance of making the cut.

Now, with another solid round, he’ll be heading on to the weekend for the first time.

He has plenty of fans cheering him on.

“There are way more Canadian people than I was expecting – or at least people pretending to be Canadians – out there,” Conners quipped. “It was awesome.”

Residents of the small town of Listowel were glued to their televisions on Thursday, rooting for a local hero playing on one of golf’s biggest stages.

“We’re really happy for him,” said Jim Stewart, who was watching the first major of the men’s golf season while playing simulated golf with friends at Listowel sports bar The Back 9.

Several men in the group have known Conners since he was a kid, Stewart added.

When asked if people in the community are excited about Conners’ growing fame, Stewart was emphatic.

“Oh, good heaven’s, yes,” he said. “It’s all over town. Everybody’s talking about it.”

Over at the Listowel Golf Club, the excitement around Conners’is “huge,” said assistant pro John Schmidt.

“Everyone that comes in is talking about it, we’re all talking about it here, all the grounds crew are talking about it,” he said. “It’s absolutely incredible what he’s going through and what he’s achieved.”

Schmidt said there are two things that put Listowel on the map – Conners and the TV comedy “Letterkenny”, which revolves around people living in a rural Canadian community.

The show’s creator, Jared Keeso, hails from Listowel. The show, featuring two friends living in the fictional town of Letterkenny, Ont., is loosely based on Listowel.

Over in the golf course’s lounge, a crowd was expected to come take in the action as the tournament continues through the weekend. Some from the club have even travelled to Georgia to watch Conners’ play and are posting updates to the golf course’s Twitter account.

Many in town believe the golfer will experience his biggest success yet this weekend.

“I think if he keeps his head together, he’s going to have a shot at the title,” Stewart said. “Corey’s got the talent to do it, let’s just put it that way.”

No matter what happens, Listowel will be cheering for Conners through the tournament and well into the future, Schmidt said.

“We’re all hoping for the best for him,” he said. “It’s hard to put on an expectation because golf is a funny game that way. But we’re all just hoping that he does the best that he can. That’s all anyone can ask of anyone, really.”

Mike Weir, the 2003 Masters champion and the only other Canadian in the field, shot a 72.