Ontario amateur Corey Conners makes his Masters debut

WATCH ABOVE: Canadian amateur golfer Corey Conners is ready to tee it up at Augusta. 

Last summer Listowel, Ontario’s Corey Conners was battling for in the final of the U.S. Amateur. He’d eventually lose to unheralded Gunn Yang. But, even coming second at the U.S. Am has its privileges and benefits. In this case the consolation was that Conners, one of Canada’s top amateurs for the past few years, received a spot in the Masters if he didn’t turn pro.

Conners held off entering the pro game and now finds himself, alongside Mike Weir, as one of only two Canadians in the field. Conners received his official Masters invite in December, but didn’t actually get to open it until the end of January when he returned from playing tournaments in Australia.

“It was just sitting there, waiting for me,” Conners said.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "It was just sitting there, waiting for me," Conners said.

“My dad knew what it was, and I’d gotten a couple of letters from the club before, giving me details and saying to call if I wanted to come and play.”

Of course, Conners knew he was getting into the tournament—the runner-up in the U.S. Amateur always gets a spot. And he’d played Augusta National, the ultra course where the tournament is held, a handful of times before getting the official invite. He’s been back several times in the past two months to get a handle on what he’ll face this week.

Conners follows the likes of Gary Cowan, the legendary Canadian amateur who played eight times at the Masters, as the latest young Canuck to do battle with Augusta’s legendarily treacherous greens. But if he was at all intimidated by the course, Conners sounded nonplussed in describing his practice rounds on its hallowed fairways, noting that when he showed up at the course he played on his own, with only a caddie to keep him company.

“It is quite a challenge to play,” he explains. “But it was an awesome experience to drive in. I’ve done some practicing and playing. I’ve scored around par a couple of times and practiced just dropping a bunch of balls around the greens.”

And yes, he walked over to where Bubba Watson hit his remarkable recovery to seal his win at the 2012 Masters, and tried Tiger Woods’ fabled chip on the 16^th that gave him the green jacket in 2005. But once the legends started to fade into the pines, Conners, the son of a high school teacher mother and father in sales, started considering the course in the way you’d expect from someone who studied actuarial math at Kent State. In other words, he started plotting his way around and by the time he was done, Conners found some level of comfort at Augusta, which is notoriously difficult for first timers.

“I think it sets up for my game well,” he said. “The thing that’s really important is driving the ball straight. There’s room to miss it, but it is important to come into the greens from the right side of the fairway. One of my strengths is driving the ball and it sets up well for me off the tee. I like the lines off the tees and if I drive it well I should have some nice irons into the greens.”

Following the Masters, Conners will turn professional. He’s already signed a deal with Chubby Chandler’s ISM sports agency, a group that previously represented the likes of Rory McIlroy and currently looks after the affairs of past British Open champ and current Ryder Cup captain Darren Clarke. The hope is that Conners will get experience in PGA Tour events, and possibly play some tournaments in Europe as well.

In the meantime, Conners isn’t worrying this week at Augusta.

“I feel like I’ve played a lot of big amateur events and I’m strong mentally and can stay within myself,” he said. “I’m committed to the plan I have and stick with that and don’t change based on what is going on around me.”