Corey Conners, Mackenzie Hughes hit the links at the Masters Tournament

Mike Weir (Second from left) joins Corey Conners (centre), Mackenzie Hughes (right), their caddies, and their families at the Par 3 contest on Wednesday April 5, 2023 (Source: Golf Canada/Twitter)

Two golfers with ties to southwestern Ontario are hoping to leave their mark at the Masters Tournament in Augusta, Georgia.

Corey Conners is fresh off a win at the Valera Texas Open.

The Listowel, Ont.-native finished at 15 under, winning the tournament by one stroke, and giving Conners the second PGA title of his career.

He also finished first at the Valera Texas Open in 2019.

Conners has some work ahead of him after his performance on day one of the Masters.

As of Friday afternoon, Conners was in 80th place with eight over par.

Mackenzie Hughes, from Dundas, Ont., is also playing at the Masters.

As of Friday afternoon, Hughes was sitting in 38th place.

Mike Weir of Sarnia is currently at four over, and Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C. is tied with Conners in 80th place with eight over par.

ON THE LEADERBOARD

The second round of the Masters was put on hold Friday after heavy wind and rain hit the area and downed three pine trees on the grounds.

MORE: Storms bring down trees at Masters, play halted in 2nd round

Brooks Koepka, Jon Rahm and Sam Bennett remain at the top of the leaderboard at the Augusta National.

Tiger Woods has never missed the cut as a pro in the Masters, but at the end of play Friday, he was sitting in 50th place with two over.

Rory McIlroy’s bid to complete a career grand slam, meanwhile, will have to wait.

He struggled on Friday, finishing with five over after 36 holes and ended up missing the cut.

If the he won at the 2022 August National, McIlroy would have become the sixth golfer in history to win all four major tournaments.

The 33-year-old was a favourite going into the Masters after finishing in second place last year.

-- With files from The Associated Press