KITCHENER -- Listowel native Corey Conners finished six strokes back of the lead, and tied for eighth with American Patrick Reed at the 85th Masters golf tournament.
The top-10 finish means Conners has clinched a spot to return to Augusta National next year. Conners also finished in the top 10 at last year’s event.
The Listowel Golf Club tweeted some support for the local golfer, saying "Back to back top 10’s at the Masters is incredible. Listowel is beaming with pride!! Way to go @coreconn !!!!".
It was an impressive weekend for Conners. He had a hole-in-one Saturday and sat in sixth position after the third round.
It came on the 180-yard sixth hole.Conners had the 33rd hole-in-one in Masters history.
He climbed the leaderboard Sunday, making a birdie on the second hole. But three bogeys and a double bogey in the middle of the round put his score at 2-over 74 at the end of the day.
Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama won the tournament Sunday, closing with a 1-over 73 and a one-shot victory.
"When he birdied the last hole to finish tied for eighth, it was pretty remarkable," said Brendan Parsons, operations manager at the Listowel Golf Club.
Parsons said he watched Conners grow up on the greens.
"It's incredible how far he's come, how far he can go," he said.
Conners is the second Canadian in Masters history to record back-to-back top-10 results.
"He's put Canadian golf on the map," Parsons said.
The town said Conners' performance was fun to watch.
"Obviously a source of great pride for our community," said North Perth Mayor Todd Kassenberg. "We're delighted to see his continuing success. The hole-in-one blows most of us away."
The local Tim Hortons honoured Conners with a special themed doughnut.
