Conners nabs final Masters spot with Texas triumph
Valero Texas Open report: What happened at TPC San Antonio?
Corey Conners will tee it up at Augusta National next week as he clinched the final available spot for the Masters thanks to a dramatic victory in the Valero Texas Open.
Conners became the first player to win after coming through a Monday qualifier since Arjun Atwal won the Wyndham Championship in 2010.
A dream realized at the @ValeroTxOpen. ?@CoreConn earns his first PGA TOUR victory.
He’s the first Monday qualifier to win since 2010.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/VOJWtcmUQ1
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2019
The Canadian trailed by one going into the final day and carded just four pars on his way to a final round 66.
Another birdie.
Another hole closer to his first win on TOUR.
Another priceless reaction from the Mrs. #LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/bsB1Ei5PEH— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2019
Having opened up a four-shot lead through five holes, Conners was cruising, but then four consecutive bogies dropped him back into a tie for the lead.
Six back-nine birdies followed, and he was able to go on to claim his first PGA Tour victory in impressive fashion.
Another one. Wow. pic.twitter.com/ukINsEQFZz
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2019
And he got a nice pair of boots as reward:
Now all is missing is a green jacket…
Valero Texas Open report: Talking points
Everybody loves holing-out from off the green, and this week, there was an unbelievable number of players who did just that.
Hole-outs from everywhere on Saturday @ValeroTxOpen.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/PHFTmbzSaP
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2019
TPC San Antonio was clearly very accessible this week, and there was a staggering 89 hole-outs.
One hop and IN.
That'll work. ?#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/Vl4k74hKvB
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2019
Around and around and around.
That was fun, @DannyGolf72. ?#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/W9c19yklLy
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2019
Five of those hole-outs came at the short par-4 17th.
They're going in from EVERYWHERE.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/o1StMpKPYy
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2019
It’s highly unlikely we’ll be seeing these sorts of numbers next week at Augusta National, though.
**
Jordan Spieth returned to form at the perfect time with just a few days to go until the Masters.
A confidence-building finish for @JordanSpieth.
He had seven one-putts on the back nine Saturday.#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/QiW5iXNu5Z
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2019
Having been struggling to string four decent rounds together in recent times, the 2015 Masters champion enjoyed a solid week in Texas on the way to a tied 30th finish.
It wasn’t exactly textbook though, he experienced a truly bizarre round on Saturday, which really sums up the game of golf.
Never give up on a round …
Jordan Spieth didn't. pic.twitter.com/pf5P2F9e0g
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 6, 2019
Spieth is 18/1 to pick up a second Green Jacket, and some of the NCG team are hoping he does just that.
**
On Saturday, Si Woo Kim took a slightly unusual route out of a fairway bunker.
Having struck his into the lip of the trap, he gave it enough power to see the ball pierce through the ground and pop nicely out the top.
Just when you thought you'd seen it all. ?#MustSeeMoments: https://t.co/sX50na8uq7 pic.twitter.com/3KHSlj0ExS
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 7, 2019
And this wasn’t the only unusual shot that we saw this week…
From the creek …
What a shot, @CamTringale. ? pic.twitter.com/de9Sc4I6Ud
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) April 6, 2019
What’s in Corey Conners’ bag?
Who will win the Masters?
Huizing edges out MacLaren for mixed event success
Joe Hughes
Tour editor covering men's golf, women's golf and anything else that involves the word golf, really. The talk is far better than the game, but the work has begun to change that.
