Corey Conners snuck into the first full-field PGA Tour event of 2019 in Monday’s qualifier and promptly apologized to his wife.
“I think (she) had a plan in the back of her mind (to) make this a little honeymoon, maybe check out another one of the islands,” said the 27-year-old Canadian, who got married in October. “I ruined that plan for her, but I think she’s not too disappointed.”
Conners and his wife had problems with the flight to Hawaii and landed Sunday afternoon knowing he might not get a chance to add to his season earnings of more than half a million dollars.
Less than 24 hours later, Conners parred the first playoff hole at Hoakalei Country Club to get into the Sony Open in Hawaii. By week’s end, Conners had an extra $307,200 ready to deposit in the bank after carding a final-round 6-under 64 on Sunday to finish tied for third place at Waialae Country Club.
His third-place finish is the highest for a Monday qualifier this year.
“I’ve been feeling good about my game for a while,” Conners said. “It was nice to put it together and have a good week.”
After just missing the FedEx Cup playoffs for the 2018 season, Conners got an early jump on the 2018-19 campaign with a career-best, second-place finish at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Mississippi.
He had two missed cuts and a T23 after that before the two-month break.
Originally from Ontario, Conners now resides in Florida and spent a few days in Las Vegas training with his coach before heading to Oahu.
His second consecutive 64 tied for the low round of the day Sunday and followed up a 4-under 68 he shot in the final round of his runner-up finish in October.
It’s his sixth straight round in the 60s when he’s played in the final round of a PGA Tour event. Prior to that, he shot in the 70s in seven of nine final rounds, including a 77 at the Valspar Championship when he led after each of the first three rounds. He was paired in the final group with Justin Rose. Tiger Woods and Brandt Snedeker were together in the group ahead.
“I’ve learned a lot from experiences and being in the mix last year,” Conners said. “I’m able to be more relaxed out there and trust myself. I’ve got a lot of confidence.”
Conners was at even par in his final round Sunday when he rolled off three straight birdies to hit the turn at 3 under.
A quick look at the leaderboard put him within three shots of the lead after third-round leader Matt Kuchar had made bogeys on three of his first five holes.
Conners, who led the field in driving distance in the final round, had a 5-footer for birdie on No. 10 after sticking his approach close, but pulled the putt left all the way.
He went on to birdie three more holes without a bogey but ended up five back of Kuchar, who birdied three of his final four holes.
“I started the back nine and knew I was three shots back possibly and yeah, I said let’s shoot a number this side and make something happen,” Conners said. “I hit it close on 10 but unfortunately I missed the putt.”