When Corey Conners arrived at the hotel for this week’s Valero Texas Open, the front-desk staffer handed him his room key – and there he was, holding the trophy from 2019. He had a laugh and said something about the photo to the hotel employee, who laughed back but didn’t actually recognize him.

And while his win from 2019 – which he finally gets to defend this week -- is now resulting in a ton of open doors, the reserved Canadian admits his life hasn’t changed much these last two years.

“It’s provided us some great opportunities,” says Conners, referring to he and wife Malory, who earned almost as much attention as her husband because of her emotional reactions, with wine glass in hand, as he pursued his first PGA TOUR win.

“But I’m still the same person.”

Conners’ victory at TPC San Antonio came in dramatic fashion. He had to Monday qualify and was 1 over for his first seven holes of the qualifier. He rallied to shoot 68 and won a 6-for-1 playoff to get into the Valero field.

He became the first Monday qualifier to win on TOUR since Arjun Atwal at the 2010 Wyndham Championship. And since the 2019 Valero Texas Open took place the week prior to the Masters, Conners punched the very last ticket to the first major of the season.

From Monday qualifier to Magnolia Lane was almost too good to be true. Conners said Sunday in 2019 that Malory got an email about their post-Valero flight back home and he told her not to check in.

“I told her, ‘Aw, don’t check in yet. Maybe we can make other plans.’ Big change of plans,” Conners said two years ago. “It was going to be an off week. I’m glad it won’t be.”

Conners’ victory at TPC San Antonio came by two shots over Charley Hoffman. The Canadian started his day 4 under through five but gave all of those birdies back with bogeys on Nos. 6-9. The roller-coaster ride continued on the back nine as Conners made birdie on four of his first five holes after making the turn.

He added birdies on Nos. 16 and 17 for good measure and finished at 20 under par.

This year, Conners doesn’t need a last-minute victory to receive a Masters invitation. He earned another trip to Augusta National with his T10 at last year’s Masters, his first top-10 in a major championship.

Conners, who was 196th in the world ranking when he arrived at TPC San Antonio two years ago, also sits comfortably in the top 50 of the world ranking. He’s ranked 41st – the highest of any Canadian -- after recent top-10s at the Arnold Palmer presented by Mastercard (3rd) and THE PLAYERS Championship (7th). That means debuts in the Olympics and Presidents Cup are within reach.

Conners played nine holes Monday morning at TPC San Antonio and described being back on the property as “so cool.” He didn’t get to defend his title in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so it’s been a long time coming for him to return.

“Every single hole I played I remember exactly what I did on Sunday (in 2019) and I made a bunch of birdies on the back nine there, so it was great to have so many great memories,” Conners said. “I love the golf course. It’s in great shape right now. I feel like my game is good and I’ve got a lot of good positives to draw off from the past. I’m expecting to have a good week. It’ll be fun.”

Conners has quietly become a sneaky golfer-to-watch through the early part of the 2020-21 season.

The alum of Kent State University – alongside fellow TOUR winner Mackenzie Hughes and Taylor Pendrith, who sits second on the Korn Ferry Tour Points List – has finished in the top-10 of five of his last 11.

While Conners’ ball-striking as always been world-class (Hughes told The Toronto Star earlier this month that “not a day that goes by where I didn’t wish I hit it like Corey”) and he sits in the top-15 on TOUR in Driving Accuracy, Strokes Gained: Off-The-Tee, and Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green, Conners’ putting has held him back from more consistent success in the past. He was 181st on TOUR in Strokes Gained: Putting in both 2019 and 2020. This year, he’s moved all the way up to 79th thanks to switching to a cross-handed grip – and tons of hard work.

“There's been, yeah, a combination of things, but I'm really happy with where things are at and going to keep working hard as I have been and hopefully keep seeing improvements in that, as well. But the consistency with (my putting) as opposed to years past has been really good,” said Conners. “It's keeping me around and getting me in the hunt.”

Conners played a practice round with Adam Long, his caddie and fellow Canadian Julien Trudeau, and Conners’ caddie Danny Sahl (a former Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada winner) on Sunday at the non-tournament course at TPC San Antonio. The group watched Joel Dahmen win the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship on Adam Long’s phone – a “life-changing moment” for an “unreal dude,” said Conners. He was so happy to see Dahmen break through, with all he’s gone through in his life.

So many were thrilled for Conners as well, in 2019, but he is hard-pressed to think about anything that’s changed the last 24 months. He smiles, though, and says he did buy a boat. But he and Malory are still in their same spot in south Florida and still count Pendrith as their roommate, who lives in one of their guest rooms.

He’s been needled about appearing on the hotel room keys by almost everyone – TOUR players, caddies, and officials alike – but it’s just another little moment that came from the biggest moment of his life so far.

The casual Canadian laughs, and starts to think about more success to come. But don’t think any more success, which seems more likely than not, will change the guy from a town of 7,500 people.

“I can enjoy life a little more because of (the win) but nothing’s really changed. I think I’d be just as happy, and my wife Malory would still be my biggest fan,” says Conners, “even if there wasn’t that week a couple years ago.”