Canada’s Corey Conners using tough Masters finish as motivation

AUGUSTA, Ga. — It was a tough way to finish the 2025 Masters for Corey Conners, and certainly not the way he would have liked given where he was on the leaderboard both Saturday and Sunday. But given that, he has never been more motivated to return to this exact spot for years to come. 

“It’s a fun position to be in. It’s pretty cool out there playing with the atmosphere out here at Augusta National and the biggest tournament in the world,” Conners said. 

Conners had a lapse in concentration he admitted Sunday after his opening hole, where he missed a putt of less than a foot for par. He bogeyed the par-3 4th as well before rallying on Nos. 7 and 8. He hit his approach on No. 7 to just inches and two-putted on the next hole to add another circle to the card. 

The Canadian gave himself a few more chances through the back nine but he had an uncharacteristic effort with his ball-striking Sunday and it was a poor time for the putter to go ice cold, too. 

“Obviously it’s a sour taste in my mouth right now. Not the Sunday I certainly was hoping for,” Conners said. “Just didn’t get the ball in the hole, didn’t score it like I wanted to.

“Tough way to end the event, putting myself in a good spot. But still lots of positives I can take away from the week once I’m able to reflect.”

Conners finished tied for eighth, his fourth top-10 at the Masters in the last six years. This also marked his fifth top-10 finish of the season on the PGA Tour, one more than the whole of his 2024 season. 

And looking at the body of work this week, Conners has certainly figured out how to play Augusta National. He was sixth for the week in fairways hit, and he was tied for second in greens in regulation. 

“I think obviously today stings. It’s hard to take many positives coming off the course shooting 3-over. But a solid week overall, and I definitely did a lot of things this week that I was happy about and can build off going into the summer,” Conners said. 

Perhaps most importantly, Conners knows exactly what it’s like to have a late tee time on the weekend at the most iconic golf tournament in the world. 

“This is where I want to be and look forward to working hard to try and get back in the mix here again,” Conners said. 

The other Canadian to make the cut, Nick Taylor, shot a 1-over 73 Sunday to finish at 3-over 291 for the week and tied for 40th.

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