Corey Conners has made three career eagles in the Masters. It’s safe to say that none of them were quite as sweet as the fourth one he recorded during Saturday’s third round. After all, it’s nice to say you made an eagle at Augusta National, but it’s better to say you made a hole-in-one.
The 29-year-old Canadian did just that on the par-3 sixth, becoming just the sixth player to do so in Masters history and the first since Jamie Donaldson in 2013.
Conners used a 9-iron (not a typo) from 182 yards (none of the other five players used shorter than a 7-iron.
If it’s nice to say you’ve made a Masters ace, it’s even nicer to say that you were in contention to win the tournament, which is what the hole-in-one has helped Conners claim during the third round. The 1 on six put Conners three under on the day and five under for the tournament. A birdie on the seventh hole then jumped him into a tie for second place.
Conners is playing in his fourth Masters, the first coming in 2015 after he finished runner-up at the U.S. Amateur in 2014. His best finish is a T-10 last November at the 2020 Masters.
The sixth hole ranks second in terms of the most holes-in-one of any par 3 at Augusta National during the Masters. The 16th hole saw its 23rd ace in competition on Thursday from Tommy Fleetwood. The par-3 12th has had three, the last from Curtis Strange in 1988. And the par-3 fourth hole has had just one: Jeff Sluman in 1992.
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