Canadians Tracker: Conners tied for second at Masters

Corey Conners fired an four-under 68 on Thursday at the 89th Masters and finished tied for second place after first-round play, three shots back of Justin Rose.

Conners carded five birdies and just one bogey on his opening round at Augusta National as he continues his strong start to the year at the season's first major championship.

The Listowel, Ont. native surged up the leaderboard with back-to-back birdies to end his day on the par-4 17th and 18th after sitting at one-under for most of the opening round.

Conners, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour, owns three top-10 finishes at Augusta National for his career. He has also made five cuts in seven starts and looks to be well on his way to adding to that total.

Nick Taylor recovered from a double bogey on the fourth with birdies on the 14th and 15th holes to post a 1-over-73 in the opening round.

The Winnipeg native finished his Thursday round T38 as he attempts to make the cut at Augusta.

2003 Masters champion Mike Weir was among the first players to tee off, and held a share of the lead early in his round before a string of bogeys dropped him back to two-over to close out the first nine.

Weir would rebound quickly by way of a birdie on the par-4 10th, but would card two more bogeys to end his round for a three-over 75.

Taylor Pendrith, playing in his first Masters tournament, had his share of struggles, as well.

Pendrith bogyed three different holes on the first nine to fall back to three-over before heading to the 10th.

The Richmond Hill, Ont. native would card a red number at the par-3 12th, before leaving Amen Corner with another bogey at the par-5 13th.

He would play the next four holes at three-over, thanks in part to a double-bogey on 17, before carding a birdie on the last. Pendrith finished the opening round at five-over 77, leaving him with plenty work to do Friday if he's to sneak inside the cut-line.