Conners finds early momentum at Masters, Pendrith struggles in debut

AUGUSTA, Ga. — The seventh hole at Augusta National is a fairly straightforward par 4, but it features a devilish bunker complex in front of the green. Corey Conners found that bunker with his second shot and then, unfortunately, he found it again after he hit his third shot fat. It could have been a disaster.

But the Canadian, who is more known for his ball-striking prowess than his short-game magic, did the kind of thing that one needs to do to have success at Augusta National. He dunked it from the bunker for an epic par-saver. His caddie, Danny Sahl, threw his fist in the air. He knew. That was important.

“It was big,” Conners said, as he had made a birdie on the par-5 second but gave it right back on the par-4 5th and whose round was teetering on the brink. “To see that go in, that was great.

“That was a nice bonus and definitely a momentum builder.”

Conners took as much momentum as he could through the balance of his Thursday opener at the Masters, shooting a 4-under 68 and, when he finished, he was tied for the lead. He hit 14 of 18 greens on Thursday and missed just one fairway.

Conners ended up tied for second alongside some major names – defending champion Scottie Scheffler and superstar-in-waiting Ludvig Aberg, who finished runner-up in his Masters debut last year.

Justin Rose fired an impressive 7-under 65 to take the first-round lead. Thursday marked the fifth time Rose has led after the opening round of the Masters — the most in tournament history.

While Conners will be chasing come Friday, his own opener was a tidy one. A good start at the Masters is certainly a key harbinger of success, as each of the last 19 Masters winners opened the week under par. In fact, the scoring average for the last 10 Masters winners in the first round is 67.8 (Conners with a 68? File that under things you love to see). And only one golfer this century has come from outside the top 10 after round one to win the Masters (Tiger Woods did it twice).

“I feel like it’s a great match for my game,” Conners said of Augusta National. “I’ve struck the ball well around here many times. The course never plays straightforward, but when you hit really solid shots, you can leave yourself in the correct positions and not have too much stress.”

Conners added another birdie on the par-5 8th before making the turn. He made another easy, two-putt birdie on No. 15 before adding two circles on the card in a row on Nos. 17 and 18 to close out the day.

On 17, Conners hit it into the pine straw on the right-hand side and knocked it to 24 feet to roll in the birdie. He hit his approach on 18 to 13 feet and rolled that one in, too.

This marked Conners’ lowest first-round score at the Masters in his career and the first time he’s broken 70.

Conners spent about 20 minutes on the driving range after his round working on his driver, and he admitted he wasn’t thrilled with his iron play on Thursday (uncharacteristic for him), but he said it “always feels good” coming off the course after posting a good number.

“Happy with the way I battled hard on some of the holes,” Conners said. “You’re always a little bit nervous getting started. Played the first couple of holes pretty nicely and was kind of settled into the round. I did a good job of not compounding errors when I got in tricky spots.

“I’ve learned in the past you get a little bit flustered and a little more nervous trying to recover on some shots. It was just having fun out here.”

Conners admitted at the beginning of the week that, after his run of three straight top-10s at the Masters between 2020-22 he had high expectations when he arrived in 2023 – maybe too high. He had just won the PGA Tour the week prior and had trouble navigating the emotional high. Then, in 2024, he had a combination of poor ball-striking and a bad draw on the tee sheet, and he had a pedestrian T-38 finish after rounds of 76-76 on Friday and Saturday.

And while Thursday wasn’t necessarily a tidy, typical Corey-Conners round (it was more in the vein of “love-it-ugly,” a little saying the guys who have come through the Golf Canada program like to use to describe a scrappy round), the score is the score. Now a Canadian is very firmly in the mix after 18 holes at the Masters.  

Conners said he had never been able to “get in a great round” when he needed it through that 2020-22 stretch. He knows, however, that he’s played solid at the Masters many times before.

“It just takes something special to get yourself near the top of the leaderboard,” Conners said. “That’s just been missing, I guess.” Until Thursday

Pendrith struggles in Masters debut

Taylor Pendrith had one thing special happen Thursday that he will absolutely be taking away from his Masters debut.

He birdied the par-3 12th, arguably one of the most iconic short holes in the game. That was the highlight of the day, he admitted, after a 5-over 77.

“A 77 would feel horrible at most places, but it’s pretty cool to be here,” Pendrith said. “Hopefully I have a good one tomorrow.”

Pendrith opened with a snap hook drive on No. 1 and was behind the 8-ball early, as he was 3 over through seven holes. The birdie on 12 was followed immediately by two straight bogeys. He made an unfortunate double bogey on No. 17 after hitting his approach behind the green. But he added another birdie on 18 to close out his day.

Pendrith has been grouped with Fred Couples for the first two rounds and he bared witness to Couples zip around Augusta National, at 65 years old, in a 1-under 71 – including dunking his approach on 17 for an eagle on the par 4.

“He was great. Just to kind of see how he plays this place. He made an unreal birdie on 1 from long left and just putted it up the hill. I mean, that’s a tough up-and-down let alone to hole it,” Pendrith said. “I learned a few things from him for sure just watching him play.”

For as cool a day as it was for Pendrith, score notwithstanding, Couples was also quick to heap praise on the Canadian Masters rookie.

“When I get a pairing that I like, I feel more comfortable, I know (Harris English) very well and Pendrith is a superstar. He was fun. He’s a hockey nut. I’m a hockey nut,” Couples said. “He’ll be fine. He could shoot 69 tomorrow no problem.”

The other Canadians were also on the wrong side of par on Thursday.

Mike Weir shot a 3-over 75 and Nick Taylor shot a 1-over 73. Taylor, who has missed the cut in each of the last eight majors, was 3 over through 13 but made back-to-back birdies on Nos. 14 and 15 to salvage the day.

Despite that over-par effort, it was a tricky Thursday overall. And Taylor is just five shots back of Conners and the second-place trio.

“Hung in there well, which I was proud of,” Taylor said. “(Being) 3 over, could have gone the other way pretty easily, but hung in there and it was nice to get it back to 1 over.”

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