Heading into the final round of the 2019 Valero Texas Open in San Antonio, Texas on Sunday, Corey Conners of Listowel, Ontario is in contention. On Saturday in round three, Conners shot an excellent round of six under par to move to within one stroke of the leader, Si Woo Kim of South Korea.
Conners collected birdies on his first three holes, before recording birdies on the fifth and seventh holes on the front nine. Then on the back nine, he bogeyed the 10th and 15th holes, but collected three more birdies on the 11th, 12th and 16th holes. After three rounds, Conners is currently at -14, while Kim is at -15.
The only other player in clear contention at the moment is American Charley Hoffman, who is two shots back at -13. Hoffman was won four times on the PGA Tour. His titles came at the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic in Palm Desert, California, the 2010 Deutsche Bank Championship in Boston, the 2014 OHL Classic in Mexico and the 2016 Valero Texas Open, where he beat the reigning Masters champion Patrick Reed of the United States by a stroke.
Kim meanwhile made golf history in 2017, when at the age of 21, became the youngest player ever to win the prestigious Players Championship in Jacksonville, Florida. Kim’s other PGA title came at the 2016 Wyndham Championship, where he beat Luke Donald by five strokes.
Conners is looking for his first PGA title. Last year he finished second to Cameron Champ of the United States at the Sanderson Farms Championship in Jackson, Mississippi and led the Valspar Championship in Palm Harbor, Florida, before struggling in the final round.
If Conners wins on Sunday in San Antonio, he will make golf history. He will become the first golfer since Arjun Atwal of India to win an event on the PGA Tour as a qualifier. Atwal accomplished the feat at the 2010 Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina.
