Corey Conners says what shocked him about Rory McIlroy after playing with him at The Masters, ‘it’s pretty impressive’

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Corey Conners is the man at The Masters who could disrupt the harmony as he sits just two behind Bryson DeChambeau and four behind Rory McIlroy on the final day.

Conners has been there or thereabouts all week at Augusta National but playing alongside McIlroy in round three, he was unable to quite match the Northern Irishman.

Still, Conners did manage to card a very well played round of 70 and going out with Patrick Reed on Sunday, he’ll feel he’s a chance to really get into the mix.

However, while Conners is a fine player in his own right, he did admit to being pretty blown away by just what McIlroy can do, especially when it comes to his driving.

Corey Conners says what is so impressive about Rory McIlory after playing with him at The Masters

“Yeah, he can hit some shots, and he took advantage of some of the par-5s today. His length…it’s pretty impressive,” Conners admitted.

“Yeah, his firepower and his ability to kind of hit the right shot at the right time, kind of get himself on a run, was impressive at The Players and again today. He’ll definitely be tough to try and hunt down.

“I think just standing on 15, yeah, just hit that iron — I don’t know what he hit, 7- or 8-iron in there possibly, to knock that in close and make the putt, that was I’d say an important moment in the round.
I wasn’t able to make a birdie there, and he was able to kind of springboard and get ahead a little bit.”

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Corey Conners’ best finishes in majors ahead of The Masters final round

Corey Conners has been a steady player on the PGA Tour for some time now and with nearly 200 events played and a couple of wins to his name, he’s no amateur.

However, when it comes to the majors, he’s in uncharted territory here.

Conners’ best finish in a major – outside Augusta – prior to this weekend is the T9 he managed at the US Open in 2024.

In terms of The Masters, Conners does seem to be well suited. He finished T10 in 2021 before following up with a T6 in 2022. He missed the cut in 2023 before finishing T38 in 2024.

Now, with just four shots between him and the top, Conners will be fully aware that a big and fast start could propel him right into having a chance of winning.