The stars aligned to get Corey Conners into The Masters.
The 2019 Masters returns this week, and the big names will be drawing the lion’s share of wagers. If you are looking for a deeper sleeper to bet on, Corey Conners has climbed on the radar after a wild win at the Valero Texas Open.
A week ago, Conners was attempting to qualify for the Texas Open. A week later, he has earned the final spot in the Masters field, and has the kind of form this season that could make him an intriguing 250/1 long shot at the Westgate SuperBook. Maybe, just maybe, he could be that incredible Cinderella story.
Last week, Conners arrived in San Antonio to compete in a Monday qualifying event for the Valero. Conners finished his 2017-18 rookie campaign 130th on the FedEx Cup points list, which kept him just out of the automatic qualifying range (top 125). He can get a shot at smaller tournaments, but any event that includes a deep or small field leaves him competing for Monday qualifying. And as long as his odds might seem to win the Masters, he’s already beaten long odds just to arrive at this point.
Ryan from Monday Q Info, an expert on the Monday qualifying subculture, offered some insight into the insanity that was Conners’ qualifying run last week. The 18-hole qualifier event on Monday requires a $400 entry fee, and usually features 70 to 100 golfers competing for four spots in the tournament field. Conners found himself facing a 20-foot putt on the 18th hole simply to force his way into a six-person playoff for the fourth spot. He drained the 20-footer and then birdied the first playoff hole to secure his spot. Add in Chase Hanna bouncing an eagle tap-in off the stick on 13 and thus failing to secure that final spot in regulation, and it was a wild Monday.
And yet, that was only the beginning. Conners opened the tournament with a 69 on Thursday and 67 on Friday to head into the weekend tied for second, four strokes behind Si Woo Kim. He chipped three strokes off Kim’s lead heading into Sunday, and closed with a 66 to beat Charley Hoffman by two strokes.
The win marked Conners’ first victory on the PGA Tour and secured his PGA Tour card for the next two years. More importantly for this week, it earned him the final spot in the 2019 Masters Field.
Conners is listed at 250/1 odds to take home the green jacket this Sunday. His chances of winning are pretty slim even if he can build on the week of his life when he arrives in Augusta. And yet, when it comes to golf tournaments and betting on long shots, you are looking for the story that speaks to you. Conners will most likely not win the Masters, but it’s fun to consider the possibilities.
The favorites are where you will make your money on this kind of tournament, and the true value plays might be players like a Hideki Matsuyama (35/1) or Jon Rahm (16/1). They’re not favorites, they’re not long shots, they’re just quality players who could easily get hot at the right time. But if you want to pull out the stops on a long shot sleeper, why not go with a guy who has big mo on his side?
Canadian Corey Conners didn't qualify for the Valero Texas Open until Monday.
— Odds Shark (@OddsShark) April 8, 2019
He went on to shoot 20-under par to earn his first ever PGA Tour win and the final spot in the Masters field.
He's been added at +15000 (150/1) to win the Masters. pic.twitter.com/MGooUbJd1u
from SBNation.com - All Posts http://bit.ly/2UFW1NE
This post have 0 Comments
EmoticonEmoticon