Earlier this week, Corey Conners was one of 73 players who teed it up at the Valero Texas Open’s Monday qualifier, hoping to grab one of the four available spots in the field. By day’s end Conners found himself in a six-for-one playoff for the final spot. At that point, his chances of just getting into the field were slim to none.
But the Canadian survived, and then had the week of his life at TPC San Antonio, where he carded rounds of 69, 67 and a pair of weekends 66s to grab his first career win on the US PGA Tour. With it comes a last-minute Masters invite plus a two-year exemption on tour, which might be just as sweet as the trip to Augusta. His Monday qualifying days are over for the time being.
Early in the final round, the 27-year-old from Ontario looked poised to run away with the tournament, as he made birdies on four of his first five holes to separate himself from playing partners Si Woo Kim and Charley Hoffman. But Conners stumbled late on the front nine, bogeying four straight holes to drop all the way back to even-par for the day.
He recovered in a big way, carding an absurd back-nine 30 to win by two strokes. Conners made just four pars on his final 15 holes, including one at the 72nd hole to close it out. He’s the first player to win after Monday qualifying since Arjun Atwal did it at the 2010 Wyndham Championship, and he’s only the fifth player to do it on the PGA Tour since 1980.
First time PGA TOUR winner @CoreConn describes his emotions after winning the @ValeroTXOpen. https://t.co/4zr86Ny6FS
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 8, 2019
Hoffman, 42, finished alone in second thanks to a birdie at the final hole that capped off a closing 67. It’s his best finish of the season, and his first inside the top 10 since the 2017 WGC–Bridgestone, a somewhat shocking fact given how consistent Hoffman was not too long ago. But he’s picked a good time to snap out of a slump with the Masters looming, an event Hoffman as had recent success in, finishing inside the top 30 each of the past four years.
Ryan Moore, who matched the low round of the tournament with a final-round 64, finished alone in third. Brian Stuard tied for fourth with Si Woo Kim, who led after each of the first three rounds, but struggled on Sunday, posting a 72.
