The latest defending champion of a PGA Tour event is spending the week replaying his victory at the TPC San Antonio in his mind.
Corey Conners of Canada won the Valero Texas Open at this time last year, shooting 66 in the final round to rally from one shot behind Si Woo Kim.
His first victory also was significant in two other ways: he became the first Monday qualifier to win since Arjun Atwal in 2010, and it got him into the Masters the following week, where he tied for 46th.
“I’m disappointed to not be back, but I have a lot of great memories of last year,” he said during a teleconference on Wednesday. “I remember the good stuff I did in getting the first win, the satisfaction of winning and proving to myself that I was able to get it done. I’m looking forward to getting into that position in the future.”
Conners rode a roller-coaster to victory that rivaled anything at a theme park. He birdied four of his first five holes, then bogeyed the last four on the front nine.
He then birdied six of his first eight holes on the back. Conners shot a pair of 66s on the weekend and finished 20-under 268 to beat Charley Hoffman by two shots.
Conners went on to record four other top-10s last season and advance to the Tour Championship. A tie for seventh the week before in the BMW Championship, with four rounds in the 60s, ensured he’d reach East Lake as one of the top-30 in points, qualifying him for this year’s Masters.
“That was huge,” he said. “I played really solid all season and was in a good position, then had two great weeks in the playoffs. I worked hard all year and it was a really nice bonus to play well enough to get there.
“It was nice to be able to check that off and I look forward to getting back.”