Masters Golf Preview: Fresh Off Win, Corey Conners Among Contenders
Corey Conners is a fan of Texas. In 2019, he became the first Monday qualifier to win a tournament when he was victorious at the Valero Texas Open.
And on Sunday, he repeated as champion four years later, shooting a bogey-free 68 to overcome a one-stroke deficit to record his second win at TPC San Antonio.
"I had been feeling really good about my game, and looking forward to getting back here to San Antonio," Conners said. "When I won in 2019, it was different, a real roller-coaster final round. I dug deep on the back nine, so I tried to channel that part of it today."
With the victory, bettors who backed Conners were able to cash their 25.00 tickets on FanDuel.
Both of Conners' PGA victories have come at the Valero Texas Open, and now he heads to Augusta National for the the Masters – another place where he’s had recent success.
Over the last three Masters, only two players have finished inside the Top 10 in each event: Cameron Smith and Conners.
Conners at the Masters
This will be Conners’ sixth Masters' appearance. During his run of Top 10s, he improved on each of his finishing positions, including a T-10 in 2020, T-8 in 2021 and T-6 in 2022.
His current ball-striking form could have him in line for another strong performance. Conners led the Valero field in shots gained: approach (+2.38) and shots gained: tee-to-green (+3.66). In each of Conners’ Top 10 finishes at the Masters, he entered the week having gained strokes with his ball-striking in each previous event. But his shots gained: approach and shots gained: tee-to-green numbers are currently the best they’ve been in either of the last three years.
Conners is 36.00 at DraftKings to win the Masters this week and is 4.30 to record a fourth consecutive Top 10 finish.
Other Canadiens at the Masters
Mackenzie Hughes is making his fourth Masters appearance. Last April, he made the cut for a second consecutive year at Augusta National, finishing T-50. At DraftKings, Hughes is a longshot to win his first major this week at 251.00.
Mike Weir remains in the field for his 24th Masters. Canada’s first male major champion defeated Len Mattiace in a playoff in 2003 to earn his annual invite to the tournament. Along with the other past winners at the bottom of the golf betting board, Weir is tied for the second-longest odds at +250000 to win the event.
The 52-year-old Weir is also set to be the International Presidents Cup team captain at the Royal Montreal Golf Club in Canada in 2024.
