CROMWELL - Unsettled weather made things a little bit quieter than normal at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell, but local golfer JJ Henry did his part to liven things up by becoming the first Connecticut player in 55 years to win the tournamen
CROMWELL â Unsettled weather made things a little bit quieter than normal at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell, but local golfer JJ Henry did his part to liven things up by becoming the first Connecticut player in 55 years to win the tournament known this year as the Buick Championship.
Henry, a Fairfield native who now lives in Texas, fired a final round 3-under-par 67 to win by three strokes over Hunter Mahan and pocket the $792,000 top prize. His win clinched Henry a spot in the British Open.
Inclement weather on Wednesday dampened the field and the crowds at the popular Celebrity Pro-Am and the threat of severe thunderstorms on Sunday had all the tee times moved up three hours and forced tournament organizers to send off groups of three, but the weather held off and Henry was able to celebrate his tournament win on the 18th green.
The top 10 finishers lacked some big names, but fellows like Stewart Cink and Woody Austin were there with former champ Notah Begay III finishing 11th, eight strokes off the lead. Guys like Ben Curtis, the 2003 British Open champion, Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank â who made the shot of the day at the par-5 13th hole â finished about 10 strokes back.
It was the conclusion of a long week of activities for the Greater Hartford Jaycees, which included closest-to-the-pin contests, long drive contests, a Mohegan Sun Fashion Show and Live Auction on Tuesday night, and the annual Celebrity Pro-Am on Wednesday.
With rain in the morning, start times were delayed and a nine-hole event â groups going off the front and back â was held. The usual suspects were on hand like Chris Berman, Jim Calhoun and Geno Auriemma, but also making appearances were former NFL quarterback Doug Flutie, current NFL quarterback and University of Connecticut graduate Dan Orlovsky, Dwight Evans and Bodie Miller.
The KJ Choi teams took first with the held of David Graham, John Pascarelli, Rocco Commisso and David Zaslav.