June 2011 Archives

Despite an agonizing loss to buddy Fran Marrello in the Connecticut Section PGA Spring Stroke Play Championship that cost him a spot in the Travelers Championship, life has been pretty darn good for John Paesani the last few weeks.

First, his daughter, Kristen, a standout student at RHAM High School in Hebron who works for dad at Norwich Golf Course and is headed to the University of Rhode Island this fall, was one of 16 outstanding teens to receive a William "Widdy" Neale Scholarship from the Connecticut State Golf Association last week.

"She really is a terrific gal," dad said proudly. "She has fought through some tough family times with my divorce, so I'm really proud of her."

Kristen is also proud of dad as she stated during an interview with a five-person selection committee that I've been delighted to serve on for more than a decade after being fortunate to receive a Neale Scholarship while attending the University of Connecticut after graduating from Litchfield High School. I was nominated by Litchfield Country Club, where I began caddying and playing at 10 years old after moving from Baltimore.

"I have so much fun watching dad play," Kristen said. "He really enjoys playing, and I really enjoy watching him."

Kristen has especially enjoyed watching dad in the Buick/Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell and the 2010 U.S. Senior Open at Sahalee Country Club in Sammamish, Wash. She would have watched dad in another Travelers Championship last week, but he three-putted the final hole to fall into a six-way playoff and was the last player eliminated by Marrello on the sixth extra hole May 25.

"I just gave it away," Paesani said. "Missed a three-footer to win."

But Paesani recovered from that disappointment on Monday when he birdied the 18th hole to shoot a 4-under-par 68 to tie former PGA Tour winners Willie Wood and U.S. Ryder Cup Team member Steve Pate for medalist honors in the U.S. Senior Open qualifier at Seven Oaks GC in Hamilton, N.Y. Paesani also beat former PGA Tour players such as Trevor Dodds, Jim Rutledge, Ronnie Black and Mike Hulbert for a berth in the 150-man field July 28-31 at the Inverness Club in Toledo, Ohio.

"When I first saw who was in the qualifier, I thought, 'Oh, did I pick the wrong place?' " said Paesani, a four-time Section Player of the Year and winner of three Section championships and the 2001 Connecticut Open. "Then I said, 'No way. If you can't beat these guys, then why think about playing in the championship.'

"Beating guys like that got me to start to believe in my talent. It was really cool and put me in a good frame of mind. I hit a lot of good shots and the ball went in the hole. It reminded me of when I was talking to Fran after the Stroke Play Championship. He said, 'It's not a people game, it's a numbers game.' It doesn't matter who's playing, just what the numbers are, and that's the way I'll feel when I get to Ohio. If I shoot 280 for 72 holes, I know I'll be in pretty good shape regardless of who's play."

The question is: Who from the Paesani clan will be watching?

"Last year, it was like a zoo with so much family," Paesani said with a chuckle.

The "zoo" included Kristen, son/caddie Matt, his ex-wife and several other friends. Matt, 16, is assured of going because he'll be caddying again, but Kristen is listed as questionable.

"I know she really wants to go, but she feels an obligation to her babysitting job," Paesani said. "We'll see what happens."

Regardless, the 52-year-old Paesani, one of the game's really good/fun guys, can take pride in being 2-for-2 in his quest to reach the Champions Tour's premier event. It will be the fifth major championship for Paesani, who also played in the 1988 and 1997 PGA Championship and the 1991 U.S. Open. Best of luck, John, and have a terrific time with Matt - and anyone else who shows up.

Congratulations to Linda Lyons of Timberlin Golf Course in Berlin on winning a third Southern New England Women's Golf Association Individual Championship on Tuesday.

Lyons shot 7-over-par 153 for 36 holes on Monday and Tuesday for a three-stroke victory over defending champion Debbie Johnson at H. Smith Richardson GC in Fairfield. Lyons previously won in 2003 and 2007 and now joins Donna Perkins and Jen Holland as three-time champions. Nicole Damarjian, a teaching pro at Willow Brook CC in South Windsor, won a record four titles, all in a row in 1986-89.

Johnson (Sterling Farms GC-Stamford) was 10 shots ahead of former winner Lisa Fern-Boros (D.F. Wheeler GC-Bridgeport). Carol Oat (Stanley GC-New Britain) finished fourth at 169, one ahead of Jo Rasmussen (Longshore GC-Westport).

Complete results are available at  http://www.snewga.org/Schedule_2011.htm.

Sixteen youngsters from throughout the state have been named recipients of William "Widdy" Neale Scholarships from the Connecticut State Golf Association.

The grants of $1,000 to $2,500 are named in honor the longtime CSGA executive director and president. The program recognizes graduating high school seniors who work at CSGA member clubs in positions serving the golf program and/or serving golfers and who are enrolling in four-year colleges and universities.

Recipients are selected on the basis of financial need, scholarship, school and community service, good character and how they perform in a 15-minute interview.

Other significant contributors include the Bob Pryde Endowment administered by The Community Foundation for New Haven, the Connecticut State Seniors Golf Association, the Senior Golfers of Connecticut and the New England Seniors Golfers' Association. Increasingly important are the contributions of individual golfers through the CSGA donors recognition program. Since 1954, the program has awarded more than $2.4 million in scholarship aid to more than 500 graduating high school seniors. Unlike many other scholarship programs, the CSGA scholarships are four-year awards.

Richard Zanini of Wethersfield chaired the committee that chose outstanding candidates who have been strong leaders, completed extensive community service and will be studying subjects such as engineering, architecture, business administration, marketing, accounting, biology, psychology, environmental science, pre-law and sports management.

The recipients are Thomas Antoniak of Wethersfield, who will attend Penn State and was nominated by Wethersfield Country Club; Taylor Beck, Old Saybrook, Assumption College, Old Lyme CC; William Blaney, Vernon, Eastern Connecticut State University, Ellington Ridge CC; Janaya Bradley, New Haven, Regis College, New Haven CC; John Corcoran, Darien, Roger Williams University, Woodway CC-Darien; Richard Dowling III, Shelton, Fairfield University, Great River GC-Milford; Andrew Fahle, Suffield, Lyndon State College, Suffield CC; Bryan Fitzgerald, Shelton, Castleton State College; Highland GC-Shelton; Russell Korolynshun, New Haven, University of Connecticut, Mill River CC-Stratford; Sarah Longwell, Trumbull, UConn, Tashua Knolls GC-Trumbull; Eric Olson, Harwinton, Providence College, Fairview Farm GC-Harwinton; Kristen Paesani, Hebron, University of Rhode Island, Norwich GC; Hailey Salito, Trumbull, University of South Carolina, Richter Park GC-Danbury; Mark Sassu, Bristol, Suffolk University, Chippanee GC-Bristol; Cody Seaman, East Granby, Clemson University, Copper Hill GC-East Granby; and Stephanie Winslow, Farmington, College of William & Mary, Farmington Woods CC.

Beck, Korolyshun, Paesani, Salito and Sassu are sons and daughters of Connecticut Section PGA members. But being a member of the committee, I can assure they didn't receive any special treatment. All were excellent candidates, as were the other 11 youngsters. It is getting more difficult every year to make the selections because the candidates get better every year. Congratulations to you all and best of luck in your future endeavors, especially in college.

CROMWELL -- Patrick Cantlay didn't become the first amateur since Phil Mickelson in the 1991 Northern Telecom Open to win a PGA Tour event Sunday, but he will become part of the World Golf Hall of Fame.

The shrine in St. Augustine, Fla., will create a display featuring Cantlay's historic second round in the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands that will include his scorecard, golf ball and signed tournament pin flag. His 10-under-par 60 was the lowest in PGA Tour history for an amateur, something even Mickelson, Jack Nicklaus, Ben Hogan, Sam Snead, Byron Nelson and Tiger Woods never did.

And the quiet, poised and personable 19-year-old from California left a second visit to Connecticut in three weeks with more reason to believe he's going to be quite the pro after finishing four years (or less) at UCLA, where he won the Jack Nicklaus Player of the Year Award and Phil Mickelson Freshman of the Year Award.

"I just learned what it's like to have a week on the PGA Tour, make a cut and compete with all the guys," Cantlay said after a closing bogey gave him an even-par 70 for 269 and a tie for 24^th. "I played in the U.S. Open last week, and it was similar, but this was just my second go-round and it was a lot of fun."

Especially on Friday, when he shot 67-60 in a rain-delayed double round to take the 36-hole lead. The 60 broke the course record and tied the tournament record shot by Tommy Bolt in the second round of the 1954 Insurance City Open at Wethersfield Country Club that he won in a playoff with Earl Stewart.

But Cantlay, obviously run down from four consecutive competitive weeks that included the Palmer Cup at The Stanwich Club in Greenwich, shot 72-70 on the weekend.

"Just didn't go as planned," Cantlay said. "And I was actually surprised I was very comfortable out there and very composed and proud of myself for hanging in there. (The last weeks) have taken a toll. This is the most weeks I've ever been in a row without being home (in Altimitos, Calif.) my whole life. So it's tough, but I'm getting used to it, and hopefully I'm doing this for the rest of my life."

Cantlay continues his tour life this week in the AT&T National hosted by Woods at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pa., and he'll take plenty with him from River Highlands.

"It helps so much knowing what it's like and talking to all the guys, all my playing partners this week and trying to learn as much as I can from them," Cantlay said. "And I'm just going to know so much more than a standard rookie out there that's going to these golf courses for the first time, and it's really a benefit."

Cantlay said the 60 isn't all he'll take with him.

"I'll just remember the whole experience," he said. "It inspires me to work harder and that my game is good enough and it's a lot of fun. And you know if I can learn more and get myself in that position more, I can only do better.

"I learned some things about the golf course and learned what it's like to be in the lead and be in contention, and I think the more you can do that, the better off you'll be."

Cantlay pledged to return next year if Travelers officials wanted to give him another sponsors' exemption. The bet here is it's already in the mail.

TRAVELERS REACHES OUT AGAIN

The Travelers continues to improve Connecticut's largest sporting as witnessed by the estimated 3,000 fans who stuck around after play ended Saturday to watch a 90-minute concert by Huey Lewis and the News in the Subway Fan Zone.

One of the highlights was ESPN personality Chris Berman joining the group for a rendition of "Walking on a Thin Line" that really had the crowd rockin' and rollin'. Some spectators lined the skyboxes overlooking the 18^th tee and others sat in elevated areas overlooking the stage.

"We're always looking for new things and thought it was awesome and hope to do it again," tournament director Nathan Grube said while watching from the Travelers pavilion.

The thousands certainly agreed with Grube.

Eddie Money also performed Wednesday night, and proceeds from both concerts benefited the Reach Foundation, based in Farmington, which supports underprivileged children. Before the concert, Reach Foundation founder Mark Wilson discussed the organization's activities, including recognizing Ty Ritter, cousin of John Ritter of "Three's Company" fame, who leads a team that rescues kidnapped children who have been put into prostitution rings. Wednesday, Ritter's team rescued seven youngsters out of Mexico.

"If you want to meet a hero, here's your guy," Wilson said of Ritter, who received a loud ovation.

FREE PASSES TO LOCAL FUTURES TOUR EVENT

Fans attending the tournament can redeem their tickets for free tickets to the LPGA Futures Tour's ING New England Golf Classic on July 15-17 at Wintonbury Hills Golf Course in Bloomfield.

The top local draw will be West Hartford's Natalie Sheary, the tour's qualifying medalist last fall who overcame a double-bogey 6 at No. 5 Sunday with three birdies, including at No. 18, for a 1-over 73 to finish in a four-way tie for eighth at 216 and win $2,088 in the Island Resort Championship in Harris, Mich. Sheary has finished tied for eighth, 11^th, 52^nd and eighth in her first four pro starts.

Stephanie Kim of Bayside, N.Y., completed a wire-to-wire victory with a 70 for 209, two less than Jane Rah (70) of Torrance, Calif. Kim won $15,400 and Rah pocketed $11,000.

Sarah Sideranko of Wethersfield and the University of Hartford also will play at Wintonbury Hills via the local amateur exemption that Sheary received for several years. She finished second in 2009 to Vicki Hurst, the Futures Tour Player of the Year who graduated to the LPGA Tour.

CROMWELL -- Travelers Championship winner Fredrik Jacobson had planned to play in this week's AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods and then head home to Sweden for three weeks of R&R.

But his one-stroke victory over Ryan Moore and John Rollins in his 188^th PGA Tour start was worth $1,080,000 and vaulted him from 16^th to first on a special eligibility list for the British Open on July 14-17 at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England.

The Travelers Championship was the fifth event in a six-tournament series (The Players Championship, Memorial, FedEx St. Jude Classic, U.S. Open, Travelers, AT&T National) in which the top two money winners, not previously exempt, earn spots in the year's third major. Entering the Travelers, the top five were St. Jude Classic winner Harrison Frazar ($1,058,436), Paul Goydos ($646,000), Brandt Jobe ($622,055), Kevin Chappell ($411,141) and Sergio Garcia ($403,487). Frazar and Garcia weren't at River Highlands this week, and Chappell and Goydos missed the cut. Jobe shot 73 Sunday to tie for 56^th at 274 and earned $13,680 to seemingly retain his third spot.

But when Jacobson became the first international player to win the PGA Tour's 60^th start in Connecticut since Aussie Greg Norman in 1995, the Swede increased his five-event British Open total from $180,264 to $1,260,264. Jacobson, Frazar, Goydos and Chappelle are in the AT&T National's 120-man invitational field.

When I asked Jacobson about playing next week and then taking three weeks off, thus missing the British Open, a quizzical look filled his face.

"Does this get me into the British?" he asked. "I don't know. Won't be that much time off."

"There's a mini-money list, and you currently lead that," PGA Tour media official John Bush reported. "The last event in that is next week at the AT&T."

"How many spots is that?" Jacobson said.

"About two," Bush replied.

"All right," Jacobson said, beaming. "I'll let you know next week. How about that?"

Yes, this was the best golfing day in the life of Jacobson, who never trailed Sunday in winning his first PGA Tour title after he tied for 14^th in the U.S. Open the previous week. He played on the European Tour for several years before coming to the United States in 2003 to try to qualify for the U.S. Open. He qualified, made the cut and kept finishing well enough the rest of that year to continue to play in this country.

Jacobson, known as "The Junkman" for suspect ballstriking but brilliant short game, had three runner-up finishes but had never reached the winner's circle until Sunday, when his 260 total was the lowest on tour this year, easily eclipsing Mark Wilson's 264 in the Sony Open in Hawaii. The 36-year-old from Gotenburg, who is sixth on the tour in scoring average (70.10), joined Jesper Parnevik, Daniel Chopra, Gabriel Hjertstedt, Carl Pattersson, Richard Johnson and Henrik Stenson as Swedish winners on the PGA Tour.

Jacobson played the first 63 holes this week without a bogey before an approach into the trees led to a 5 at No. 10, his only over-par number of the week. He was trying to become the first winner since 1972 Greater Hartford Open champion and part-time Wethersfield resident Lee Trevino at the 1974 Greater New Orleans Open to go bogey-free for all 72 holes.

But Jacobson finally had just enough this time, making a clutch 8-foot, par-saving putt at No. 17 and a routine par at the final hole for that much-cherished win.

"Obviously it means a great deal," said Jacobson, the eighth first-time winner on tour this year. "I came over in '03 after having won in Europe, and I had my eyes on the (PGA) Tour. Obviously after winning a couple of times that year (on the European Tour), I felt pretty good about winning, and I didn't know it was going to take this long before I won one. But whoever waits for a long time, all the sweeter when it comes together."

Especially when you fulfill a pledge to one of your children. Jacobson had promised 5-year-old daughter Emmie that he would get a trophy this year like the ones she saw other players holding up on TV during last year's FedEx Cup Championship.

"It's been haunting me," Jacobson said. "I've been on the board, I've been asked so many times from the kids, 'Did you get a trophy this week daddy? Did you get a trophy this week? Nope, no trophy. So, I'm excited about that. I'm glad I'm not breaking that promise for her."

Now he just needs two more of those trophies for the other two youngsters.

CROMWELL -- The Insurance City Open/Greater Hartford Open/Canon GHO/Buick Championship/Travelers Championship has had a few sore losers in its day.

Mark Calcavecchia in 1990 and Jeff Maggert in 1997 come readily to mind.

After making a watery double-bogey 6 at No. 17 and three-putting the 18^th for bogey, Calcavecchia sat in the players' lounge with daughter and coach Peter Kostis for about an hour waiting to see if his 269 total would at least get him in a playoff. When it didn't, Calc exited out stage left out the back door and right to a waiting car, cursing late Hartford Courant sports columnist Alan Greenberg along the way. Fortunately I had tracked down Calc's wife/caddie, Sheryl, who told me that hubby had topped a 6-iron into the lake at the 17^th, otherwise it would have been a mystery to everyone else.

A day later at buddy Ken Green's benefit tournament at Richter Park Golf Course in Danbury, Calcavecchia said he didn't want to stick around TPC River Highlands because he might have said something he might have later regretted after PGA Tour Player of the Year Wayne Levi won by a shot. I countered that if he had won, he would have made a beeline to the media center. Calc apologized that day and again 10 years later when he was challenging Notah Begay III, only to lose on a 20-foot birdie putt by Tiger Woods' former Stanford teammate on the final hole.

Maggert was worse - and better - after he hooked his drive on the final hole into the rough, flew his approach over the green into more rough, tried to hit a flop shot that rolled 40 feet past the hole and then two-putted to finish one behind Stewart Cink. Maggert stomped off the green, walked up the hill to the scoring tent and slammed his putter through the wooden floor as playing partner Brandel Chamblee was about to hit a 20-foot birdie putt that would have gotten him into a playoff.

Chamblee missed, and after signing his card, Maggert exited stage left to the locker room, where he did talk to three writers after packing his bags and before leaving.

Fast forward 14 years to Sunday, when Ryan Moore misses a 4-foot, 3-inch par putt that gives him a 7-under-par 63, his low round of the year by four strokes. Moore narrowly missed after hitting his drive and approach into bunkers and then nearly holing from the sand for a birdie.

"I guess just no excuses," Moore said. "Just didn't hit it where I meant to hit it and missed it."

The miss eventually left Moore one behind Swede Fredrik Jacobson, who made a brilliant saving par at No. 17 and a routine one at the 18^th for a 72-hole total of 20-under 260 and his first victory in America with the low score on tour this season. Mark Wilson had the previous low of 264 in the Sony Open in Hawaii.

Though obviously dejected, Moore did a post-round interview with CBS on-course analyst Peter Kostis for several minutes and then went directly to the media center.

"I was obviously pretty happy with my round," said Moore, who tied for second in his tournament debut in 2006. "Any time you shoot 63 in the final round there's not a whole lot of complain about. ... That 18^th hole is going to sting a little bit, you know. Just put it in a bad place off the tee and maybe a little too aggressive with my second shot. Honestly, hit a pretty darn good bunker shot, almost made it. Really hit my first bad putt of the day. It was just a pretty simple left-center putt, and I pushed it right in the middle of the hole and it just topped out that left side.

"All in all my goal was to get to 20 (under). Obviously I wanted to get out and make some birdies early, not let him get a four- or five-shot lead and just kind of be able to cruise in. I wanted to get out there and get on the board and make him think a little bit and play hard. And he did. In the end, he won."

Moore started the day four back but birdied the first three holes and five of the first seven to apply some pressure. He missed a playoff shot at his second tour title by inches but won over the masses with how he conducted himself afterwards. And he augmented those feelings when asked how he managed to hold it together so well.

"There's just so much to be positive about," Moore said. "I could be certainly frustrated right now, but I just shot a 64-63 Saturday-Sunday, and that's not that bad. It was really the second round that cost me this tournament when I shot even par. It was that really broken up day where I finished two holes in the morning, went home, hung out all day, played nine holes at night and then came back and finished in the morning kind of thing.

"And I just didn't get any rhythm going on either one of those and ended up shooting even par. And on this golf course that definitely cost you. I was able to make up for it this weekend, but I certainly should have been a lot closer going into today, if not right there. So I'm not beating myself up over that (missed) putt. You hit bad putts. That happens in golf. It was unfortunate timing, but really it was that second round that ultimately cost me in my mind."

Moore again contended at River Highlands with trainer J.D. Rastovski on his bag. Rastovski filled in for Moore's brother, Jason, who was taken ill earlier in the week and just couldn't carry on Sunday. Moore won the 2009 Wyndham Championship with Rastovski on his bag, so there was only concern for his brother.

"I felt bad for him," said Ryan, who credited his strong showing to a slight adjustment in his grips. "He looked awful, but he was on the green when I got done, so he must be feeling a little better."

They shared a private moment, and then Ryan stood up like a man, a winner in defeat.

CROMWELL - Fifteen minutes after Bubba Watson ended his roller-coaster first PGA Tour title defense with a second successive bogey, the likable Floridian and wife Angie greeted D.J. Gregory outside the scoring trailer.

After a friendly five-minute chat, Gregory, who has Celebral Palsy but has walked every hole of every tour event since the start of the 2008 season, high-fived Watson, said "you're awesome" and walked away fighting back tears.

Why such a juxtaposition of emotions? Gregory followed Watson and University of Hartford grad Tim Petrovic in this week's Travelers Championship at soggy TPC River Highlands, setting a personal single-day high of 41 -- yes, forty-one -- holes in 13 hours on Friday. Watson and Petrovic pledged a certain amount to Gregory's Walking For The Kids Foundation for each birdie and eagle they made during 72 holes, with the amount determined by the player.

Maybe it was Gregory's extraordinary dedication and determination Friday that caused Watson to give D.J. a record $25,000, which was $5,000 more than Gregory received in any event last year and about what Watson LOST by making bogeys on the last two holes Sunday.

"For a guy who stands up and does that, why wouldn't you want to help him out?" Watson said when asked why such a generous donation. "Just to be funny, I asked him what the biggest amount was that he got last year and told him I would go over that, so I went $25,000 this year. You normally just decide a certain amount, but if you do $100 a birdie, you're not going to get to five grand. So most guys give him five or 10 grand, so I figured why not 25 (grand).

"I give to multiple charities throughout the year, and (the amount) just depends on what's in my heart. D.J. being a good friend and his charity being a great charity ... Last year he helped The First Tee of Connecticut (with a $26,000 donation), so for a friend and guy who's doing so much in his life when he could just be sitting back during nothing, it's an honor to be a friend of his. It's amazing what he does."

The feeling is mutual.

"He's the best," said Gregory, who could use the same word to describe himself.

But that hardly describes Watson's play at River Highlands.

"Sure was a week of changing momentum," Angie rightly assessed.

Watson had an eagle 3 at No. 13 Sunday and 22 birdies, six in a closing 3-under-par 67, but he also carded 13 bogeys and a double bogey in finishing at 9-under 271 and a tie for 38th. A year ago, he shot 266 and made par on the second playoff hole to beat Scott Verplank and Corey Pavin for his first of three tour titles in less than a year.

"I had a lot of mistakes today, a lot of three-putts," Watson said. "I wish I would have played better, but it didn't matter if I was defending or not. I just wanted to play better. I'm trying to win a golf tournament. I could care less what I did last year. It's just like they say in golf: if you hit a bad shot, just forget about it and go to the next one.

"I wasn't thinking about me being defending champion. Nobody cares. The other guys trying to win could care less that I won last year. I didn't do anything different that I did before. It's all the same."

Well, not quite.

"I have the number one locker and a better parking spot now," Watson said with a smile. "And 'Ws' normally have to walk downstairs (in the locker room). Now I'm on top."

Watson said he has more support because fans know who he is now, especially after losing a playoff to Martin Kaymer in the PGA Championship in August, playing for the U.S. Ryder Cup team for the first time in October and winning the Farmers Insurance Open and Zurich Classic of New Orleans this year.

"It's been a little bit better since I left here last," Watson said.

Watson said he wasn't done in by a particular phase of his game this week.

"I can't pinpoint anything," he said. "I didn't three-putt all week, then I had two today. I hit one fat into the water yesterday (on No. 17) and cut a shot into the water Friday (on No. 15). So it wasn't something, like I putted bad all week. I putted good at points, I hit bad shots a points, I hit bad drives at points. It wasn't anything. I was just a cumulative not as good as I wanted.

"There are a lot of guys who wish they could have just made the cut, so it's not all bad. But it's not what I wanted."

Regardless of how he played, he'll be back on June 22-25, 2012.

"The new sponsor Travelers really treats us well and really knows how to run a golf tournament," Watson said. "Everything has been good."

With that, Bubba and Angie prepared for a limousine ride to JFK Airport in New York for an overnight flight to Paris and his debut in the French Open, which starts Thursday. Then they'll return to their hometown of Baghdad, Fla., before flying back to Europe for the British Open on July 14-17 at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England.

Why the quick back-and-forth to Europe?

"It's only a six-hour flight from Paris back to my house, so I'll just fly back for five days so I can have American food," Watson beamed.

As fate would have it, Watson played in front of Petrovic on Sunday.

"An easy day for me," Gregory said with a smile.

"He got lucky," Watson said with a chuckle.

Petrovic shot 68 to tie the defending champion at 271. He had a more mundane 14 birdies, including four Sunday, and five bogeys for the week and was undecided on how much he would give Gregory.

Whatever it is, Gregory deserves it. There are few more inspirational people walking the earth, cane on no cane.

Watson finished second to Fairfield native J.J. Henry (2006, 269, T24) among the six former champions in the field. The others were Hunter Mahan (2007, 272, T43) and three who missed the cut -- Woody Austin (2004, 139), Kenny Perry (2009, 141) and Brad Faxon (2005, 145), who played in his record 27th and final tournament as he will join the Champions Tour after he turns 50 on Aug. 1.

CROMWELL - Talk about shocking.

Having known John Daly up close and personal since writing an in-depth piece on golf's most intriguing and often tortured soul for the Hartford Courant entitled "Long Drive Back" that I was fortunate enough to win first place in the Golf Writers Association of America's feature writing contest in 1993, it was stunning to see the Grip It and Rip It Man up close this week.

Daly, known as a golfing rebel with a major league heart, has lost 133 pounds - 318 to 185 - as a result of Lap-Band surgery in February 2009 that has reduced his stomach to the size of a grape. Daly wanted to change his eating and drinking habits after being suspended from the PGA Tour for six months in December 2008 for alcohol abuse and had the procedure done by Dr. Tiffany Jessee in Clearwater, Fla. To try to get his life back in order, he underwent the adjustable gastric band operation in which a silicone ring was surgically put around the top of his stomach, forming a gastric "pouch" in the upper part of his stomach with a controlled and adjustable stoma, without stapling, thus limiting food intake.

A gastric band is introduced through one-centimeter incisions in the abdomen and placed around the upper part of the stomach. The resulting pouch, or "new stomach," dramatically reduces the functional capacity of the stomach. The band has a balloon from the inside that is adjustable and can reduce stoma size, prolonging the period of fullness.

The surgery is performed under general anesthesia and can last 30 minutes to an hour. The band is fitted around the uppermost part of the stomach, forming a 15cc small pouch. It's designed to be inflated or deflated at any time, which helps the patient continually lose weight until they reach their goals. The restriction normally takes 15 minutes and is painless. Saline is injected into a port placed under the skin in the wall of the stomach and fat tissue that constricts same balloons inside the band. The tube that comes off of the band leads to the port, and the restriction provides for greater satiety with less food, resulting in a caloric deficit and weight loss.

It all sure sounds complicated, but Daly was enthralled with the procedure and actually had me touch his stomach so I could feel the band. Kind of gave me the willies at first, but I have learned the advantages of the gastric banding include no stapling of the stomach, calibrated pouch and stoma size, adjustability to a patient's needs after surgery, a short hospital stay that usually doesn't exceed 48 hours and full reversibility.

"It's an absolutely amazing thing and really helps your self-esteem," said Daly, who shot a 4-over-par 74 Sunday at TPC River Highlands to finish 74^th in the Travelers Championship at 1-over 281 after being given a sponsors' exemption. "We can all lose weight, but the key is keeping it off. You have to be loyal to it. I got a little queasy when I first did it, but I've been fine since then. I have to sip my Diet Cokes slowly, and you can't drink alcohol because it won't get through. I haven't had a drink in three years, but when the holidays come around, some people want to have a few beers or drinks, so they can remove the plug. They'll gain weight, but after the holidays, they put the plug back in and can lose the weight again. It's just amazing."

So amazing that Daly's 18-year-old daughter, Shynah, has lost 118 pounds in the past two years. But she still has 15 pounds to catch dad, who has lost some power that led to him being the PGA Tour leader in driving distance for more than a decade because of muscle mass loss, common in patients with rapid weight loss.

But he's still Long John Daly to some extent, though many of the young players these days make hitting it 300 yards seem like child's play. Daly, who burst on the scene when he won the 1991 PGA Championship as the ninth alternate and captured a second major in the 1995 British Open in a playoff with Costantino Rocca, hasn't reached the winner's circle since the 2004 Buick Invitational.

But the guy who has twice contemplated suicide, plays a mean guitar and sings, donates money to strangers, has visited various alcohol addiction programs, including the Betty Ford Clinic, still travels mostly in a personal recreational vehicle that he parked down the street from River Highlands this week, claims he has lost $50-60 million gambling and whose fourth wife plead guilty to federal drug charges and was sentenced to a five-month prison term remains a fan favorite for his accessibility and Loudmouth Golf Apparel that always brighten a day, even rainy ones like we had to endure the first two days of the tournament. Now if only we could get him to stop smoking so much. Don't want to lose one of the game's all-time colorful characters too soon.

CROMWELL -- After something called the sun finally reappeared at TPC River Highlands on Saturday, J.J. Henry seemed on the verge of duplicating the 7-under-par 63 that he shot in the third round of the Buick (now Travelers) Championship and propelled him to his only PGA Tour victory in 2006.

Henry, the Fairfield native and only Connecticut player to win the state's largest sporting event, made his sixth birdie of the day on the 16^th hole to get to 11 under for the tournament, one behind co-leaders Fredrik Jacobson and 19-year-old amateur Patrick Cantlay.

But Henry three-putted the 17th hole from 61 feet, missing a 4-footer for par, and was in a bit subdued after finishing 54 holes at 10-under 200 and tied for 16^th.

"I knew starting out that the scores were going to be low, but it was nice to be in the first group off (the first tee)," said Henry, who wasn't among the 77 players who had to finish the second round Saturday morning starting at 7 a.m. "This tournament is like my fifth major growing up in Connecticut and winning in 2006, so I was proud of the way I hung in there in my second round to be able to kind of finish it off and to play great today.

"The leaders are still playing a lot of holes, but it's nice to get a good solid round in and see if I can do the same thing tomorrow. I missed some chances, but you're never disappointed when you shoot 65. But I left a couple out there, and that makes the difference between really having a legitimate chance to have a good finish. But regardless of what happens, I'm playing well. Even regardless of how I play tomorrow, I'm looking forward to the second half of the year."

When Henry finished, he was four behind Jacobson and Cantlay, who shot a course-record 60 in the second round Friday in his bid to become the PGA Tour's first amateur winner since Phil Mickelson in the 1991 Northern Telecom Open. Henry reiterated what he said Friday about wanting to make the cut when he played in the 1998 Canon Greater Hartford Open as an amateur and tied for 56^th while Cantlay was trying to win after being low amateur last week in the U.S. Open, tying for 21^st at par 284.

"You saw what (Rory) McIlroy, 22, did at the Open, so it says a lot about the game of golf, for sure," Henry said. "These kids aren't scared, and (Cantlay) almost shot 59, so good for him. Obviously he's a great player, and it'll be interesting to see what happens on the weekend."

Not much good on Saturday. Cantlay scrambled most of the day and bogeyed Nos. 13, 17 and 18, hitting in the water on the first two holes and a greenside bunker on the last, on the way to a 72 for 199 and a tie for 10^th. He's five behind Jacobson, who made a 31-foot putt at the final hole for his seventh birdie in a 63 to finish as the only player without a bogey for 54 holes.

Jacobson will be in the final group on Sunday in a PGA Tour event for only the second time in 187 PGA Tour starts, the other coming in the 2004 Honda Classic, where he tied for fourth.

"It'll be nice to start out and not be behind," said Jacobson, who has three runner-up finishes but no wins since coming to America from Sweden to play fulltime eight years ago.

A year ago, Bubba Watson was in the same position as Henry. He trailed Justin Rose by six and rallied to get in a playoff in which he beat Scott Verplank and Corey Pavin for his first of three victories since then. So Henry knew he still had an outside shot, though he might have to approach Cantlay's 60 considering the conditions.

"The golf course is soft and receptive, so it's going to be a putting contest the rest of the way," said Henry, who has made 15 of 18 cuts this year but has only one top-10 finish, a tie for ninth in the Northern Trust Open. "I'll go out tomorrow with really nothing to lose, kind of go out and see if I can shoot as low as I can and see what happens. I've shot 63 before and on more difficult when it was a little firmer. But I'll probably have to shoot somewhere around 60 to have any kind of a chance, and it's been done this week.

"I'm excited and in a position where I've got everything to gain and nothing to lose, so we'll go out tomorrow in twosomes and kind of whip around. When you get that flow going and playing with that momentum, who knows? I'm just going to go out and try to make as many birdies as I can, not necessarily watch what's going on.

"But I'm not necessarily looking about that. I feel my game is probably in the best shape it's been in in 12 years on the PGA Tour coming into this week. You still have to make the putts and hit the shots, but I'm excited about the second half of the year. I feel like I'm doing the right things putting myself in a position to hopefully win a golf tournament."

HOW QUICKLY THEY FALL

PGA Tour rookie Jim Renner learned all too well about the frailties of golf this week.

The Plainville, Mass., product shot a 7-under-par 63, six shots better than his previous tour low, to take a one-stroke lead after the first round and regaled a mass of media about his exploits early Friday afternoon. About six hours later, he met with all of four writers about a 74 that put him at 3-under 137 for 36 holes.

Saturday morning, Renner learned he had become the first outright first-round leader this year to miss the cut at 136, the lowest in tournament history. At the Northern Trust Open, Ben Martin was among a nine-way tie for the lead after an opening, 4-under 67 but shot a second-round 80 and was headed down the road. Renner is believed to be the first outright first-round leader to miss the cut in a PGA Tour event since Rod Pampling shot 71-86 at the 1999 British Open.

Renner earned his PGA Tour card when he tied for 22^nd in the qualifying tournament last fall. As a 14-year-old, he attended his first tour event at the 1998 Canon Greater Hartford Open, now the Travelers Championship.

Other notables to fail to advance to the final 36 holes were former U.S. Open champions Geoff Oglivy (137), Jim Furyk (137), Lucas Glover (141) and Corey Pavin (142), former tournament winners Woody Austin (139), Kenny Perry (141) and Brad Faxon (145), Trinity College grad and 2007 runner-up Jay Williamson (138), Anthony Kim (138), Justin Leonard (139), Ben Curtis (139), David Duval (140), Trevor Immelman (142), Stuart Appleby (143), former Madison resident Will Strickler (143) and Kevin Tway (140), whose father, 1986 PGA Championship winner Bob Tway, caddied for his son. Fran Marrello of Canaan Country Club, the Connecticut Section PGA's only representative after winning the Stroke Play Championship, withdrew after nine holes with an ailing back after shooting 6-over 41. He hopefully can begin play Sunday in the PGA of America's Professional National Championship in Hershey, Pa.

"I shoot 1 under and 1 under and miss the cut, so I think it might be time to stay home (in St. Louis) with the kids and stick with insurance," the 44-year-old Williamson, who played on a sponsors' exemption, said before leaving the parking lot. "And when a 19-year-old shoots 60, I know it's might REALLY be time to stay home."

SHOOTING FOR BRITISH OPEN EXEMPTIONS

The Travelers Championship is the fifth event in the six-tournament series (Players Championship, Memorial, FedEx St. Jude Classic, U.S. Open, Travelers, AT&T National) in which the top two money winners, not previously exempt, earn exemptions for the British Open July 14-17 at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Entering the Travelers, the top five were St. Jude Classic winner Harrison Frazar ($1,058,436), Paul Goydos ($646,000), Brandt Jobe ($622,055), Kevin Chappell ($411,141) and Sergio Garcia ($403,487). Frazar and Garcia didn't play this week, while Jobe is tied for 28^th at 201 and Chappell (137) and Goydos (140) missed the cut. ... Because of the suspension of play Thursday, all general admission ticket holders for that day can reuse their ticket for grounds admission for Sunday. Hospitality tickets for Thursday also can be redeemed, but they can only be used for grounds admission. ... Fans attending the tournament can redeem their tickets for free tickets to the LPGA Futures Tour's ING New England Golf Classic on July 15-17 at Wintonbury Hills Golf Course in Bloomfield. The top local draw will be West Hartford's Natalie Sheary, the qualifying medalist last fall who has tied for eighth, 11^th and 52^nd in her first three pro starts. She shot a 1-under 71 Saturday and is tied for ninth at 143 entering the final round of the Island Resort Championship in Harris, Mich. Stephanie Kim of Bayside, N.Y., retained her lead, shooting 72 for 139, one better than Hanna Kang (69) of Seoul, South Korea, and Lizette Salas (72) of Azusa, Calif.

CROMWELL -- Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of David and Geri Epstein, Connecticut will have something no place else on earth has.

Geri, who lost her husband to cancer on Dec. 15, donated an additional $500,000 to The First Tee that will enable the local chapter of the organization to have a practice facility, mini-course and learning center in the same area.

The Epsteins' earlier donation of $1 million had made them one of Connecticut's three national First Tee trustees, joining Karl Krapek and John Lundgren. The additional $500,000 put The First Tee of Connecticut over the $1 million plateau needed to build a 7,500- square foot learning center adjacent the 23-acre, state-of-the-art practice facility that opened in 2008 and the four-hole Karl Krapek Family Learning Links that debuted last year at the TPC River Highlands.

"David was basically interested in education and health," said Geri Epstein, 72, who divides time between Westport and Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., and was on hand for the announcement Saturday morning at TFTCT's annual Patron's "Breakfast Tee" to thank its supporters and workers who promote the organization's nine core values. "He founded our foundation to benefit Memorial Sloane-Kettering Cancer Center (in New York) that helped keep him alive, but I talked him into The First Tee.

"He learned how to play golf on a public course in Bridgeport, D.F. Wheeler, from his father at 7 or 8 years old. He just loved golf, and I thought this would be a great thing for him. I twisted his arm a bit, but they invited us to be a trustee and I said, 'David, you have to do it' basically because he enjoyed the game so much and had played so many great courses.

"So we just figured it was a really worthwhile cause, especially with the children. I heard my husband describing it to somebody, and he made a point to saying all these values, and I was amazed he even remembered them all. So that was our reason for wanting to help The First Tee. David would have loved to be here, but I'm sure he's enjoying it somewhere."

Joe Louis Barrow Jr., CEO of The First Tee national organization that has 4.7 youngsters in 50 states and six countries, said the David and Geri Epstein Learning Center will make the three-prong facility unique. A rendition of the learning center was unveiled, and construction is scheduled to begin later this year.

"This is going to the brightest, shiniest jewel in our crown of First Tee facilities in this country or the world," Barrow said. "We probably have five or six facilities that have a learning center and a course, but nothing like this. Without question, this is going to be the most special facility we have in the entire network because of the proximity of the Krapek course.

"And the beauty about this one is the learning center is actually designed to really cater to The First Tee. The entire interior floor plan and the way they are designing it is really going to complement our core curriculum in a way that's really going to allow them to develop in one of the most effective ways throughout the country. No other facility has all these components, and sometimes they were not designed with the entire curriculum in mind in terms of the computer rooms.

"So it's really a building built for The First Tee and its curriculum, and for the Epsteins to be able to provide the resources to be able to build it is an extraordinary commitment on their part."

The learning center will feature classrooms, computer labs, indoor practice range, training facility, family viewing area and TFTCT's administrative offices. TFTCT is an initiative of the Connecticut Golf Foundation, which has been handling youth development programs since 2000. The organization now serves more than 50,000 youth annually throughout Connecticut, and its mission is to positively impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through golf.

Krapek said the vision of Northeast Utilities, which donated the land for $1, the Greater Hartford Jaycees led by Ted May, chairman of the TFTCT board of directors, the Travelers Championship and TPC River Highlands have led to "an amazing thing."

"This really is the best facility in the country," Krapek said. "And I knew Mr. Epstein from when we flew back from a national trustees outing. He was sick at the time, but when he passed, his wife said he loved this organization so much that they were going to do it (donate) again for the building. It's amazing."

So, too, was featured speaker, D.J. Gregory, who has Cerebral Palsy but has walked every hole of every PGA Tour event since the start of the 2008 season and donated $26,000 to TFTCT last year from his Walking For Kids Foundation. Gregory, who did his first test runs in 2007 under the direction of tour media member Doug Milne, is following defending champion Bubba Watson and University of Hartford grad Tim Petrovic this week. They will donate a to-be-determined amount for every eagle and birdie that they make to Gregory's Foundation.

During an inspiring 20-minute talk that was preceded by an ESPN video special on him, Gregory had most of the 200 people on hand close to tears as he related his story from how his parents were told when he was 2 that he would never walk through trekking more than 1,100 miles a year now following and writing about players at 45 PGA Tour stops a year.

Fittingly, Gregory set a personal record of 41 holes in a day on Friday, when he walked from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. with Watson and Petrovic, both of whom made the cut at 5 under par.

"I'm a very determined person, and my determination could be considered being stubborn, but that's OK with me," Gregory told his enthralled audience. "I don't do what I do for recognition or media attention or to have stories written about me. If I can inspire one person to set their goals and dreams and achieve them, that's very special."

Gregory started his Walking For Kids Foundation in 2010 and handed out $85,000 to four charities, with TFTCT receiving one of the largest grants. Gregory received a loud ovation when he said TFTCT would be a recipient again this year.

"The purpose of my foundation is to give to children and core values," Gregory said. "I love The First Tee. I love what it stands for, that it teaches the most important aspects of life in a good way.

"I don't walk for a living. I play for a living. I'm very fortunate and appreciate how much I enjoy things through what I do because I can do more for people."

This from someone with Cerebral Palsy who is the subject of the most requested video at ESPN. Gregory continually receives plaudits and congratulations as he walks the course and especially when he played in the Tournament Players Pro-Am on Monday with Morgan Hoffmann, who made the cut in his pro debut on a sponsors' exemption after leaving Oklahoma State after his junior year.

When Gregory took his first shot Monday, hitting one-handed while balancing on his trusty cane, a nearly aghast Hoffman said, "Man, that's awesome."

So, too, are Gregory's right-hand staff of Amy Froebel and Neil and Cass Comeau of Middletown, who were recognized with a memento from David Polk, TFTCT president and executive director. Neil Comeau is Gregory's former classman and roommate at Springfield College who caddied for his friend in the pro-am Monday. Donations to Gregory's Foundation can be made to www.walkingforkids.org.

Polk also presented awards saying "Thanks for Teeing It Up for the Kids" to Travelers Championship tournament director Nathan Grube and Bill Whaley, TPC River Highlands director of golf and national director of golf/general manager of PGA Tour Properties.

"This is not going to be a learning center, it's going to be a home away from home for the kids," said Grube, a former executive director of The First Tee facility in Birmingham, Ala. "I received a letter last month from a youngster in Birmingham on what he was doing, and I hadn't seen him for eight years. That's what The First Tee can do and what it means to people."

Before starting his third round, Charley Hoffman greeted TFTCT youngsters as they arrived, and longtime WFSB-Ch. 3 news anchor Al Terzi emceed a forum to start the breakfast. During the event, Ronald Foshay of Thomaston and Hou Tai Wong of Glastonbury each received a $2,500 Andrew K. Dwyer Scholarship, Jeffrey Stevens of Cheshire received a renewable $1,000 William P. Lyons Scholarship and Allison Touhy of Prospect received a $1,000 W. Grant Thomas Scholarship.

It also was announced that the new Walmart Classic, the tournament's kickoff pro-am on June 5, raised $70,000 for TFTCT. The Final Final Open at Glastonbury Hills Country Club on June 13 raised another $50,000.

CROMWELL -- PGA Tour rookie Jim Renner grew up in Plainville, Mass., not far from Gillette Stadium, as part of a golfing family.

But Renner didn't see a PGA Tour event until he was 14 and visited TPC River Highlands in 1998 to watch part-time Massachusetts resident Olin Browne win the Canon Greater Hartford Open (now Travelers Championship) in a playoff.

After attending the University of Oklahoma and Johnson & Wale University in North Miami, Fla., where he won the 2005 NAIA Championship, Renner nearly completed the New England pro sweep, winning the Massachusetts, Vermont and Rhode Island Opens in 2008 and Maine Open in 2009. After notching one Hooters Tour victory last year, he earned his PGA Tour card when he tied for 22^nd in the qualifying school.

But the first 51/2 months of 2011 had been forgettable, with a tie for 56^th in the FedEx St. Jude Classic his best showing in 11 starts. Then came Friday at River Highlands, where Renner started a long day with new caddie Tim Duffy with pars at Nos. 10 and 11 and then had five birdies in the next seven holes for a back-nine 30.

Renner returned to human on the front side, but a 23-foot putt for birdie at No. 9 gave him a PGA Tour-low 63 and a one-stroke lead over Ryan Moore and Andres Romero. The 7-under total shattered his previous PGA Tour best of 69 on three occasions, most recently in the second round of the St. Jude Classic. It also was only one stroke shy of the best opening round on the tour this year by David Toms and Chez Reavie at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial. Toms went on to end a five-year victory drought, and Reavie tied for fifth.

"Seven under is certainly a nice score," Renner said matter-of-factly. "I'll take it. I just had one of those days where I was just playing real solid. I made one bad swing, and that was my bogey (at the par-3 fifth). One of the things I've been doing this year is making bogeys with good swings. But I just played real well and putted real nice, so all and all it was just a solid day."

Well, solid half-day.

Renner said he felt he has played a lot better than his results this year as he lived and learned to take the bumps and bruises along the PGA Tour trail. So he reassessed things the previous few weeks, including while not playing the U.S. Open last week, and felt he was on the right track.

"It's certainly nice, and this is rewarding to have a nice good day and hopefully follow it up with a couple of other nice ones," Renner said.

Unfortunately for Renner, one didn't come Friday afternoon. He bogeyed No. 1 and double-bogeyed No. 3 to start a second-round 74 that might cost him the cut that will be made late Saturday morning.

Renner could only dream about the brilliance of amateur leader Patrick Cantlay.

"Sixty is 60," Renner said. "I wish I shot 60."

ROMERO KEEPS HIS RHYTHM

Andres Romero didn't qualify for the U.S. Open, so he traveled home to Argentina to play in an event in his homeland and finished second.

"I went to play there just to be in rhythm," Romero said. "It's great to be in the rhythm I am here and playing good."

Romero has been in rhythm since he began the start-stop-start-stop tournament. Starting at No. 10 on Thursday, Romero birdied his first four holes and was 5 under after 12 when play was called off at 5:58 p.m. He had to restart Friday on the difficult par-4 fourth and made a bogey, but he sank birdie putts of 13 and 17 feet at Nos. 7 and 8 and parred the ninth for 64.

Romero didn't start his second round until 6:50 p.m. and was 3 under for five holes to move into a tie for second at 9 under when play was halted by darkness at 8:01 p.m. He'll have 13 holes to catch or pass Cantlay at the halfway mark.

Moore, who tied for second in his tournament debut in 2006 and shared fourth in 2009, ended his first round with birdies at Nos. 17 and 18 off brilliant approaches. That gave him an eagle 3 at No. 13, five birdies and one bogey in his first round spanning two days.

"I generally have not come out of rain delays or come out early in the morning and finished up rounds very well," said Moore, who restarted at 7 a.m. "I didn't do anything different (Thursday) night, but some mornings you just get out there and it's different. I guess this game balances itself out eventually, so it was nice to actually get out there and get up-and-down on my first hole. Then I hit a great shot out of the fairway bunker on 17 to about eight feet above the hole and then stuck it in there to about 31/2-4 feet on 18. So it was obviously a nice way to finish the round and a nice way to be able to go relax and feel good for the rest of the day and see what happens. Now I'm going to go home and take a nap."

Moore didn't start his second round until 6:10 p.m. and was even par for seven holes and tied for 22^nd when play was stopped.

FIRST TEE OF CONNECTICUT ANNOUNCEMENT SATURDAY

The First Tee of Connecticut will announce the construction and naming rights to its learning center at a news conference on Saturday at 9:30 a.m. in the pro-am tent behind the state-of-the-art driving range that opened in 2008.

A year ago, TFTCT opened the four-hole Karl Krapek Family Learning Links component of the learning facility located next to the range. Now, after another year of fund raising and planning, Joe Louis Barrow Jr., CEO of The First Tee national organization, PGA Tour players, officials and youngsters from TFTCT and tournament organizers will announce the 7,500-square foot learning center building that will begin construction in the fall.

The announcement will part of the annual Patron's "Breakfast Tee" celebrating the accomplishments of TFTCT and its supporters, who have donated more than $1 million, including $500,000 by the person for whom the learning center will be named. The learning center will feature classrooms, computer labs, indoor practice range, training facility, family viewing area and TFTCT's administrative offices. TFTCT is an initiative of the Connecticut Golf Foundation, which has been handling youth development programs since 2000. The organization now serves more than 50,000 youth annually throughout Connecticut, and its mission is to positively impact the lives of young people by providing educational programs that build character, instill life-enhancing values and promote healthy choices through golf.

Besides Barrow, the tour players and TFTCT youngsters, others scheduled to be on hand are TFTCT president David Polk, TFTCT board of directors chairman Ted May, and inspirational D.J. Gregory, who has Cerebral Palsy but has walked every hole of every PGA Tour event since the start of the 2008 season and donated $26,000 to TFTCT from his Walking For Kids Foundation.

A new fundraiser for TFTCT will take place at D.F. Wheeler Golf Course on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The Family Golf Challenge is an amateur skills competition featuring a putting and long-drive competition designed to introduce more women and children aged 7 to 17 into golf. The entry fee is $15, with $5 going to TFTCT. Families can register online at www.familygolfchallenge.com.

IN SEARCH OF BRITISH OPEN EXEMPTIONS

The Travelers Championship is the fifth event in the six-tournament series (Players Championship, Memorial, FedEx St. Jude Classic, U.S. Open, Travelers, AT&T National) in which the top two money winners, not previously exempt, earn exemptions for the British Open July 14-17 at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England. Entering the Travelers, the top five were St. Jude Classic winner Harrison Frazar ($1,058,436), Paul Goydos ($646,000), Brandt Jobe ($622,055), Kevin Chappell ($411,141) and Sergio Garcia ($403,487). Frazar and Garcia aren't playing this week, while Jobe is 6 under for two rounds, Chappell is 5 under with 10 holes to play and Goydos is 2 over with seven holes to go. The projected cut is 3 under. ... Because of the suspension of play Thursday, all general admission ticket holders for that day can reuse their ticket for grounds admission for any remaining day. Hospitality tickets for Thursday can be redeemed for any remaining day, but they can only be used for grounds admission.

CROMWELL - Some home cooking set up Taft School-Watertown grad James Driscoll for hopefully his best PGA Tour finish of the year in the Travelers Championship.

After practicing at TPC River Highlands on Wednesday morning, Driscoll planned to return to his hotel but made a serious detour to Boston.

"I drove an extra hour, but I had 24 hours to kill, so I figured why not," said Driscoll, whose coach at the University of Virginia was Mike Moraghan of Litchfield, son of Connecticut Golf Hall of Famer Marty Moraghan. "I slept in my own bed and came back Thursday morning. It's great. It's always nice when you can just get in your car and not have to get on a plane to get to a tournament."

Persistent rain prevented Driscoll from playing his first round Thursday, and his opening, 1-under-par 69 put him in the middle of the pack. He was even par after six holes of his second round, which he started at No. 10, but then rattled off three straight birdies and capped his day with his sixth of the round for 64, one off his tour low. That vaulted him into a tie for 13^th among the 78 players who finished before darkness halted play at 8:01 p.m. The second round resumes Saturday at 7 a.m.

And the difference between the morning and afternoon wasn't earth shattering.

"I hit it a little bit better. I putted it a little bit better," Driscoll said. "I hit the ball pretty good in the morning and could have been a little better. But I made a few 25-footers this afternoon on 7 and 9, which is pretty helpful."

Driscoll said soft greens and no wind led to his low score and those of so many others.

"I took advantage of it," he said. "I was hitting the ball really well and made a couple of putts coming in."

Driscoll arose at 5 a.m., teed off at 7:37 and finished his 36 holes at 5:45 p.m.

"I didn't feel really tired, but you obviously feel more energized when you're playing well," said Driscoll, who lives in Jupiter, Fla. "I'm sure I'm going to sleep well, but my legs didn't feel too tired and I didn't feel like I made any tired swings. But I've played the (36-hole) U.S. Open qualifier about six times, and when I'm home, I play 36 a day, too.

"And I like this course. The back nine is great because you have to think on every hole. You can birdie a lot of holes, but if you're a little sloppy, you're going to make some bogeys, so it's a great test for a tournament."

CROMWELL - J.J. Henry was looking at one of his worst possible scenarios in golf Friday afternoon, missing the cut in the tournament that means the most to him.

After missing the green and making bogey at TPC River Highlands' 10^th hole, Henry was even par and on the brink of failing to play the final 36 holes in the Travelers Championship.

But a 20-foot putt at No. 11 kick-started a stretch of five birdies in six holes that gave the only Connecticut player to win the state's largest sporting event a 5-under-par 65 and 5-under 135 total after 36 holes and 101/2 hours trekking around soggy River Highlands.

Despite the long day, Henry birdied the 13^th through 16^th holes, the last two after approach shots to 5 feet, before two closing pars enabled the Fairfield native to finish one stroke off his low of the year in the first round of the opening event, the Bob Hope Classic.

"Obviously the last thing I wanted to do is not play four rounds in the tournament that I obviously love playing," Henry said, "so I take a lot of pride in the fact that, even after a long day on the golf course, I was able to hang in there and make five birdies coming in. I'm proud of that, but more importantly I get to play this weekend with really nothing to lose. I feel like I'm playing well and putting great, and you know you're going to have to make birdies."

Henry said he didn't make any late-round correction.

"I knew I was playing good, but I just didn't get anything going on the front nine," Henry said. "I hit one bad shot, hit a tree out of the rough and it cost me (a double-bogey 6 at No. 4), but I hit some good shots and good putts that just didn't sneak into the hole. You're going to make a few mistakes in 36 holes, but to come back the way I did says a lot about what this tournament means to me.

"I'm maybe middle of the pack as far as the cut goes, but I have a chance to play with nothing to lose and really have a good time, which is really what it's about. If I go out and have a good time, I think I'll play well. I'm not going to be playing with the lead, so I just want to go out and try to make as many birdies as I can and hopefully continue the momentum I had the last eight holes."

Despite the stellar finish, Henry stood eight strokes behind 19-year-old Patrick Cantlay of Los Alamitos, Calif., trying to become the first amateur to win a PGA Tour event since fellow Californian Phil Mickelson in the 1991 Northern Telecom Open. Cantlay, low amateur in last week's U.S. Open at par 284 for a tie for 21st, had a second-round 60 that broke the course record and tied the all-time tournament record set by Tommy Bolt in the second round of the 1954 Insurance City Open at Wethersfield Country Club that he won in a playoff with Earl Stewart. Cantlay, the NCAA Player of the Year as a freshman at UCLA, made eagle 3 at No. 13 in each round and birdied his final two holes as he tries to become the youngest winner in PGA Tour history. 

Until Friday, Henry had been the last amateur to make the cut at River Highlands, birdying his last hole, No. 9, to make the cut in 1998 and then finish in a tie for 56^th. He said he still has terrific memories of the shots he has hit on the course that he knows better than anyone else in the field. He came to watch the tournament when he was growing up and won the $792,000 first prize by three strokes five years ago.

"I remember everything (from 1998)," Henry said. "I remember my dad (Ron) caddying for me. I remember coming from the NCAA Championship, not the U.S. Open like (Cantlay) did. I remember coming from the Northeast Amateur (at Wannamoisett Country Club in Rumford, R.I.), which is obviously a pretty good amateur tournament, and coming out early Monday and getting a feel for the week. I played with Vance Veazey, who has been on and off the tour, and I remember us both making putts on the last hole to make the cut. I didn't think I needed it, but I forgot I wasn't playing in the Northeast Amateur. But I knocked it and the crowd went nuts, and that's what it's all about.

"I don't know (Cantlay) at all, but he's obviously a heck of a player and an incredible talent. It sounds like he's trying to win the tournament. I was just trying to make the cut, so that's the difference. I was nervous in the pro-am, but as I joked, he played in the U.S. Open last week, and I kind of compare that to going from calculus back to basic math. Not that this is an easy golf course by any means, but when you're playing under those extreme conditions, you almost kind of have a sigh of relief and feel like, 'OK, I just go out and play golf again.' There's probably some of that going on for him, too. He hasn't played in a whole lot of tour events, but when he has, he played great in the U.S. Open."

Henry reiterated his game is the best it has ever been all-around, especially starting this week. He has made 17 of 19 cuts and has six top-10 finishes, but his best showing is a tie for ninth in the Northern Trust Open.

"If I continue to work on the little things, I hopefully will give myself a chance to win a tournament the second half of the year," Henry said. "I've been very consistent, so the game is there, but it's a question of doing the little things to hopefully give myself a chance to win."

CROMWELL - The sandy base upon which the TPC River Highlands is built proved a godsend - and a curse - again Thursday.

After only six of the 156 starters in the Travelers Championship had completed their first round, Mother Nature stole the thunder while providing plenty of her own.

CROMWELL -- Major shoutouts to Trinity College grad Jay Williamson and the other PGA Tour players who conducted junior clinics at eight local courses and then played in the Connecticut Section PGA's Junior Golf Association Pro-Am at TPC River Highlands on Wednesday.

Williamson, who lost a playoff to Hunter Mahan in the 2007 Buick (now Travelers) Championship, Carl Paulson and Zach Miller get special kudos for participating in both events.

The JGA members raised $15,000 during the Birdies for Charity fundraiser to have a chance to be among the 36 junior golfers to play a nine-hole scramble with PGA Tour players. The top 16 money raisers in the JGA won a spot in the event, and seven others were chosen at random for participating in the fundraiser. A total of 70 JGA members participated to raise the money, all of which goes directly to the Connecticut Section PGA Golf Foundation to fund junior, minority, and special needs golf initiatives.

Tour players who participated in the scramble were Williamson, Paulson, Miller, 2004 Buick Championship winner Woody Austin, Bud Cauley, Morgan Hoffman, Troy Matteson, Daniel Sumerhayes and UCLA sophomore-to-be Patrick Cantley, who tied for 21^st in last week's U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

Miller, Finn Boynton, Matthew Cesare, Benjamin James, and Thomas Labbe won with a 9-under-par 27. A reception followed the event with food and fun in the form of a raffle where junior golfers won much needed golf balls, clubs and tickets to the Travelers Championship.

Earlier in the day, the Connecticut Section PGA Golf Foundation sponsored the tour players to do the junior clinics, which were held despite rain. The tour players were Williamson, Paulson (Stanley GC-New Britain), Miller (Rockledge CC-West Hartford), Craig Bowden (Lyman Orchards GC-Middlefield), Scott Gordan (New Haven CC), Cameron Tringale (Indian Hill CC-Newington), William McGirt (Tallwood CC-Hebron) and Jarod Turner (Shuttle Meadow CC-Kensington).

Children and parents listened to tips from course management to the golf swing and fitness, and some had their swings critiqued by the players.

Miller also talked about growing up watching a lot of the tour players that he now competes against and felt as if he knew them when he first joined the tour.

"It was a cool experience to now be playing alongside guys like Vijay Singh and Phil Mickelson," Miller said.

And it's cool that you would take out time out to help local youngsters and their parents. Best of luck in the so far much too rainy Travelers Championship.

CROMWELL -- Contrary to some of the gibberish making the rounds these days, American golf isn't in the toilet.

Sure Europeans Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Martin Kaymer are ranked 1-2-3 in the world, but there's still much more depth on the PGA Tour than anywhere else in the world. And as 2003 U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk pointed out Wednesday, foreign stars such as Vijay Singh are really American golfers, not foreigners.

"I think American golf is probably a little better than what it's been given credit for," said Furyk, who has struggled a bit with his driving, wedge play and putting while tinkering with his swing after being PGA Tour Player of the Year and FedEx Cup points leader in 2010. "I've said this a lot the last few weeks that with Rickie Fowler, Hunter Mahan, Dustin Johnson, Nick Watney - if you gave me a list I could come up with more - I'll let you to pick four guys from any other area in the world - I won't even make you pick a country - and I'll put those four against anyone.

"Time will tell. We'll know 20 years from now, but that's just a lot of talent wrapped up in there for under 30s. I don't know how old (defending Travelers Championship winner) Bubba (Watson) is, but we've got a lot of talent in the U.S. right now. ... Obviously it's a worldwide game, and I think of a lot of these international guys as members of our tour. I mean Vijay is a neighbor of mine (in Ponte Vedra, Fla.)."

The absence of injured Tiger Woods and foreigners winning the last five majors for the first time in the modern era has spurred a lot of chatter, but it's basically nonsense.

"The absence of Tiger right now, with him being off the PGA Tour or not playing as well, has allowed the focus to shift," Furyk said. "I think he has gotten a lot of credit and notoriety, and he has deserved it. But he's not out here."

Australian Geoff Ogilvy, who won the 2006 U.S. Open that no one else seemed to want, said times are "more normal now" after Woods won a staggering 25 percent of his starts before his life and game became unraveled 19 months ago.

"The last 15 years (of Woods dominance) have been weird, were abnormal," said Oglivy, who, like Furyk, is at TPC River Highlands for the first time in 10 years. "It was pretty strange to have a guy that much better than everybody else and to win that many tournaments (71). I mean (Jack) Nicklaus was a dominant player, but he wasn't as clearly dominant as Tiger was. Maybe he was playing against better players.

"Now it's getting back to normal with 10 or 15 players shuffling around at the top. In 10 or 15 years, it would be quite feasible to see (U.S. Open champion) Rory (McIlroy) have won eight (majors) and Martin to have five. You can see a lot of players winning multiple majors who are playing golf at the moment."

Despite an eight-stroke victory in the U.S. Open on Sunday, McIlroy wasn't as dominant as Woods when he won the 2000 national championship by a record 15 strokes.

"It's not as good as Tiger's 12 under at Pebble (Beach) because the next best at Pebble was 3 over," said Ogilvy, trying to regain his game after being sidelined by an ailing shoulder for all but one event from the Masters to the U.S. Open. "But (McIlroy) winning by eight shots is astonishing, and he was in front basically after nine holes and never relinquished it. He wasn't just in front and then had a great Saturday or something. He was in front the whole week.

"I mean he was miles in front. He was 10 shots ahead after the 17^th hole on Friday. I mean that's absurd. It's ridiculous. ... I don't think it should be remembered as far as relative to par. I think it should be remembered by how many shots he won by and how he was so clearly the best player in the field that it was evident by lunchtime on Friday that the tournament was pretty much all over. It was a pretty impressive performance, especially backing it up after the Masters," where he blew a four-shot lead entering the final round, shooting a 7-over 43 on the back nine for 80.

RECORD WIN FOR JOHNSON, KUCHAR

Speaking of record-breaking dominance, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar, whose grandparents live in Madison and was playing on his 33^rd birthday Tuesday, combined to shoot a tournament-record, best-ball, 24-under-par 118 to pocket $300,000 for winning the 13^th CVS Caremark Charity Classic hosted by Brad Faxon and Billy Andrade at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington, R.I.

Kuchar had the added prize of his wife, Sybi, and two young sons, Cameron and Carson, sprinting on the green and giving him hugs and a birthday cake as two-time Greater Hartford Open champion Peter Jacobsen sang "Happy Birthday" and his parents joined the celebration.

"We got off to a nice start and made a lot of good putts out there," Kuchar said after he and Johnson combined for an 11-under 60 in the final round Tuesday. "We didn't putt as well as we did the first day (in a 58 on Monday), but we were steady and kind of counted on each other."

Kuchar and Johnson finished two strokes ahead of Davis Love III and LPGA star Morgan Pressel, who will play in this week's Wegman's LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y. The winners beat the previous record 119 shot by Mark Calcavecchia and Nick Price in 2001. Kuchar, whose father Peter caddied for him, was coming off a tie for 14^th in the U.S. Open, where Johnson tied for 30^th.

Defending champions J.B. Holmes and Ricky Barnes, both of whom are in the 156-man Travelers field, tied for third with Camilo Villegas and David Toms, who is also playing this week. Toms replaced Rickie Fowler, who had to withdraw from the CVS event and Travelers Championship because of a knee injury.

Faxon and Gary Woodland finished fifth at 121, one ahead of Paula Creamer and Brandt Snedeker, a Travelers entry. Suzann Pettersen and Brett Quigley tied with Jacobsen and LPGA Hall of Famer Juli Inkster at 127. Andrade and Billy Haas shot 130, and two-time Masters champion Ben Crenshaw and Jhoattan Vegas had 134.

Johnson lauded Andrade and Faxon, recipients of the Golf Writers Association of America Charles Bartlett Award in 1999 for unselfish contributions to society. Faxon also received the PGA Tour's Payne Stewart Award in 2005.

"Billy and Brad know what it means to give back to the community," said Johnson, who made his third appearance in the tournament. "This is a wonderful tournament for a wonderful cause and they deserve a lot of credit for hosting it every year."

TWAYS, OKLAHOMA STATE WELL REPRESENTED

The Tway clan and Oklahoma State are well represented in the Travelers Championship. Bob Tway, a Champions Tour rookie whose eight PGA Tour victories include the 1986 PGA Championship on a holed bunker shot on the 72^nd hole, is caddying for his son, Kevin, the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur champion making his pro debut after finishing his college career at OSU. Tway's brother, Scott, is toting for Scott Verplank, who lost a playoff to Watson last year. Charles Howell III, who shot a NCAA-record 23 under par before making his pro debut and finishing in a tie for 32^nd on a sponsors' exemption in the 2000 Canon GHO, is another OSU product with local ties. Howell, whose major sponsors include The Hartford, isn't playing this year because it's his 10^th wedding anniversary. ... The last time the Celebrity Pro-Am was reduced to nine holes was in 2003, when Jacobsen won the pro-am and tournament. "I remember because I played with him in the pro-am," Berman said. So if you're looking for a possible winner on Sunday, consider Johnson and Irishman Padraig Harrington, who led their teams to front-nine and back-nine victories. ... Twenty players who made the U.S. Open cut are in the field, led by Kevin Chappell, who tied for third and shared low American with Robert Garrigus. Chappell also made the biggest jump in the FedEx Cup standings, from 88^th to 61^st. ... Two of the three rookies inside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings, HP Byron Nelson Championship winner Keegan Bradley (22) and Bob Hope Classic champion Jhonattan Vegas (24), are in the field.

CROMWELL - Fairfield native J.J. Henry is satisfied with his steady play in his 11^th PGA Tour season and hopefully of a second victory in his "home game" at TPC River Highlands this weekend.

"I've been consistent, have a lot of top 25s (six), but for whatever reason I'm not throwing in that one low round that gives me a chance to win a tournament or finish in the top five," Henry said Wednesday before playing in the rain-delayed afternoon segment of the Travelers Championship Celebrity Pro-Am. "I just have to be patient because I feel my game is in the best shape it's ever been in. Everything is a lot more consistent ballstriking-wise, and Roger Cleveland, who started Cleveland Golf and is now with Callaway, has helped me out quite a bit with my chipping, short-game stuff and putting.

"But life is in a great spot. I've got a great family, my two kids are good and my oldest just finished kindergarten so they're up here visiting for a few weeks. So I'm really looking forward to playing because I honestly feel like I'm playing with a lot of confidence and will give myself a chance to win a tournament or two. I've won enough to be pretty well set for next year, but my goal now is to win one tournament this year."

Henry has made 15 of 18 cuts and earned $729,042, 74^th on the money list, but has only one top-10 finish, a tie for ninth in the Northern Trust Open in February, and tied for 54^th in U.S. Open last week.

Henry's only PGA Tour title came in 2006, when he carved out a three-stroke victory and got to enjoy a casual stroll up the 18^th fairway with about 30,000 local supporters applauding his every step. After the $1.08 million victory, Henry got really involved in charity work, establishing the Henry House Foundation that does tremendous work in his current hometown of Fort Worth, Texas, and for The First Tee of Connecticut and Metropolitan New York.

Henry will host a second charity benefit Monday at The Patterson Club in Fairfield, where he learned to play golf under the tutelage of his father, Ron, and pro Paul Kelly. J.J. raised nearly $100,000 last year and hopes to do even better Monday, when the participants will include UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun, a new member of TFTCT board of directors, and ESPN personality Chris Berman, J.J.'s playing partner in the AT&T National Pro-Am at Pebble Beach and the Celebrity Pro-Am on Wednesday.

There is a junior clinic given by local pros at 9:30 a.m., and a member of TFTCT will play with each group in the tournament, which has a 12:30 p.m. shotgun. The tournament is sold out, but fans can attend the dinner, reception and live auction for $120. If interested, contact Henry House Foundation director Laura Anderson at 817-263-3291 or landerson@henryhousefoundation.com.

While at Patterson, folks likely can get a glimpse of the current edition of Met Golfer Magazine, which has a story on "Golfing Dads" that includes Henry and his father, another proficient player who competed in several British Amateurs.

"It's a really cool deal," J.J said.

CROMWELL - Brad Faxon has supported New England golf more than any player in history. From his hometown of Barrington, R.I., to Sutton, Mass., to Wethersfield and Cromwell, Faxon has been a mainstay on the course and a major character in raising money for local charities.

CROMWELL -- Travelers chairman and CEO Jay Fishman wanted to do something different for the Travelers Championship.

It's already the biggest sporting event in Connecticut, but Fishman & Co. are always looking for ways to improve the product on and off TPC River Highlands.

This year, it was Grammy Award-winning artist and New Haven native Michael Bolton headlining the inaugural Michael Bolton & Friends Concert to benefit the Michael Bolton Charities for Children & Women at Risk at the Bushnell in Hartford on Tuesday night. The Bolton charity was founded in 1993 mainly to combat violence against women and has dispensed more than $6 million in grants to various organizations that support children and women at risk of poverty, abuse, neglect, homelessness and domestic violence.

After a VIP reception and dine-around that drew about 800 golf, food and Bolton fans, ESPN personality Chris Berman emceed the start of the concert, stressing the importance of the tournament to the area and local charities.

"A big shout-out to Jay Fishman, (Travelers executive vice president and chief administrative officer) Andy Bessette and all the folks at Travelers," Berman said. "You know how far the tournament has come from what started as the Insurance City Open when the Travelers plays the Bushnell."

Berman then introduced Fishman.

"I want to thank everyone for being here and supporting the tournament," Fishman said. "We're a local company delighted to help the local community and local charities, but it wouldn't be possible without all of you. As long as you want us, we'll keep coming back."

Needless to say, that drew plenty of applause.

Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason proved to be quite the "warm-up" act, performing a half-dozen songs with longtime partner Johnne Sambataro.

Tournament director Nathan Grube then did his thank yous before introducing Bessette for more rounds of thanks.

After the lights dimmed, a four-man ensemble and two female backup singers, one of whom played the trumpet, emerged from the darkness before Bolton was introduced to a rousing ovation.

"I know we'll all focused on golf this week, but we're here to take your mind off it for a little while," Bolton said.

Man, did Bolton & Co. succeed,  as heeasily added to his more than 53 million records sold, 20 studio albums released and multiple Grammy Awards for best male vocalist and numerous other honors won while selling out arenas worldwide.

Bolton performed 14 songs, including three each with two Australian wonders, acclaimed singer/songwriter/guitarist Orianthi and singer/actress Delta Goodman, who could have been confused with the second coming of Olivia Newton John. Bolton also did a solo dedicated to the late Luciano Pavarotti and appeared from the darkness in the middle of the audience signing "When A Man Loves A Woman" after a solo by contemporary jazz saxophonist and recording artist Michael Lington of Denmark. Lington also performed a duet with Bolton and was part of the finale of all 11 artists.

How much was raised for Bolton's charity is still being determined, but for the more than 2,000 in attendance, including several PGA Tour players, it was more than two hours of brilliance and priceless. For those who missed the show, make sure it's on your schedule next year.

Major ups to West Hartford's Natalie Sheary.

Most folks in these parts know Sheary as one of the leading up-and-coming players in women's golf.

But Sheary made history Wednesday when she became the first Wake Forest player to be named the Atlantic Coast Conference Women's Golf Scholar Athlete of the Year.

Sheary, who graduated in May, is a three-time All-ACC and honorable mention All-American who tied for eighth in the NCAA Championship and helped the Demon Deacons to a 14th place finish. She is only the second female golfer at Wake Forest to be named an All-American three times. Her 73.56 scoring average this season, third-best in the ACC, was the lowest of her career and gave her a career scoring average of 74.

Congratulations, Natalie, and good luck on the LPGA Futures Tour in your quest to finish among the top 10 money winners and earn a LPGA card for 2012.

Fans should be around the TPC River Highlands' first tee around 11:45 p.m. Wednesday when Travelers Championship officials and ESPN personality Chris Berman, a longtime supporter of the tournament, will thank/congratulate 2005 champion Brad Faxon on his record 27^th appearance in Connecticut's largest sporting event.

The only years that Faxon, who shared the record with 1988 winner Mark Brooks, has missed playing since 1983, the final year at Wethersfield Country Club when he was an amateur, were 1999 and 2008. Faxon, who received a sponsors' exemption to play this year, also helped design The First Tee of Connecticut's four-hole course adjacent the new driving range. Youngsters from TFTCT are also scheduled to be on hand.

So stop by and applaud one of the game's really good guys and now the tournament's most devoted supporter. If you miss him then, he tees off in the Travelers Celebrity Pro-Am at 12:20 p.m. on the 10^th tee.

CROMWELL - Jay Williamson has truly reached a crossroads in his life, on and off the golf course.

Finishing 149^th on the PGA Tour money list and then failing to advance through the second stage of qualifying school last year put the Trinity College grad in pro golf purgatory.

Williamson, the competitor, loves to compete on the PGA Tour, especially when he returns to TPC River Highlands, where he lost a playoff to Hunter Mahan in the 2007 Buick (now Travelers) Championship. But being relegated mainly to the Nationwide Tour and wanting to be home with his three children has Williamson believing it might be time to stay in St. Louis and stick with the insurance business.

"I've got my property and casualty license and can make some money to supplement things," said Williamson, who is playing in only his third PGA Tour event of the year on a sponsors' exemption. "But I can't make the kind of money that I can out here. What's amazing about the world I'm in now is that people have a real short memory. I've had a decent career, not a great but a decent career (for 20 years), and if I would have won here, I would have been looked at totally different.

"But golf is pure capitalism, and when you get the opportunity, you HAVE to take advantage of it. That's the position I'm in this week, and I HAVE to take advantage of it. But the stress is just overwhelming. I've never played golf under this much duress, and that's the really hard thing. That's why I'm trying to separate all the other bull that's going on in my life and just enjoy whatever happens this week."

Williamson, 44, has made one cut in his two PGA Tour starts this year, a tie for 59^th in the Puerto Rico Open on March 13, his last visit to the major leagues. He also has made two cuts in four Nationwide Tour events and won a total of $18,844, which hardly covers his expenses. He's is in the veterans' member category and would have been able to get into 15-to-20 events in the past, but there are fewer spots available now because "there's a more international appetite out here."

"It's like the world right now," said Williamson, who lost a playoff to 2010 Travelers Championship winner Kenny Perry in the 2008 John Deere Classic. "Everything is shrinking, and I'm kind of caught in this shrinking world. Golf really needs the world to be thriving. We don't have a lot of sponsors like Travelers floating around. (The PGA Tour) doesn't want to be in the position of having to find a lot of sponsors again because they'd really have a hard time."

On Thursday, the Royal Bank of Canada signed a five-year contract with the tour to become the new title sponsor of the Heritage Classic in Hilton Head, S.C., and the Boeing Co. made a five-year commitment as the local presenting sponsor. But RBC is not an American company, and Williamson said it's more difficult than ever to find title sponsors because of the continued decline of the economy.

It's kind of like Williamson's game, but the fiery former hockey player is trying to take a new approach this week in his former stomping grounds on a course where he came as close as ever to winning at golf's highest level.

"I'm real excited to be here, and my focus is to get out of reality and enjoy this tour for what it is, the fantasy tour," said Williamson, who had dinner Monday night with John Dunham, his former hockey coach at Trinity. "All the other stuff I'm dealing with now is reality, and I'm trying to separate myself from reality. I always knew I wanted to play out here, but now I have to decide if I want to be home with my kids or be on the road.

"It's really hard being on the road when my kids are growing up. I don't really play for myself any more, I play for my kids. It creates stress that I'm not used to."

David Toms, whose 13 tour titles include the 2001 PGA Championship, had similar sentiments as he suffered through several injuries and failed to win for five years. Then his 13-year-old son Carter started to really get involved in the game and piqued dad's interest and desire to play. Five weeks ago, Toms ended his victory drought in the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial a week after missing a 3-foot putt on the first playoff hole to lose The Players Championship to K.J. Choi.

"I texted my wife (Sunday) because she said my 8-year-old was down on this short-game place hitting balls," Williamson said. "That will be a way to allow me to stay in the game, if my kids actually play. If they don't, then I just don't have time for it. They're playing hockey, baseball, field hockey, tennis, all this other stuff, but there's no focus on golf.

"My kids don't love it, and I don't know if they look at it as me being away or we just don't push them enough on it. But if my kids could play golf, it would allow me to stay in the game and be happier doing it. But I'm caught up in that middle-age deal now. I'm not completely focused on golf, and you need to be to compete out here. I guarantee all these other guys are."

MEMORABLE MOMENTS FOR VERPLANK

Scott Verplank pulled off one the most spectacular shots and made one of his most clutch putts of his 25-year career before losing to Bubba Watson on the second playoff hole last year.

Seemingly out of contention, Verplank made eagle 3 at No. 13 and then holed a 30-yard bunker shot for eagle 2 at No. 15.

"It was very timely," Verplank said of the bunker shot. "I really didn't think I had a chance to win, even at that point. I can't remember what the scores were, but they were still several more under par than I was. And you expect guys to make birdies coming down the last three or four holes. Obviously on 17 anything can happen, but the other holes, if you hit good shots, you should have good chances.

"But I do remember that I was disappointed that I was there (in the bunker) after my tee shot because that was not a good place to be. It was just I hit a great shot, and it was just lucky enough it went in because I sat there on the tee and watched the guy in the same bunker take two to get on the green. So I'm standing there in that bunker going, 'I know I don't want to do that.' But it was kind of an all-or-nothing shot. I had probably one square foot area that I could land the ball in and get it around the cup, and it was perfect. I probably wouldn't be able to do it again. I could probably throw a hundred balls down and might get lucky, especially to have it roll in like a perfect putt. It was one out of a hundred maybe at best.

"It was not really the best spot to be, being short-sided in the bunker with the green running away from you. But as it turned out, that's kind of what's interesting about golf. You never know what's going to happen."

The two eagles vaulted Verplank into the title hunt, then Watson hit his second shot into the water and made double-bogey 6 at the 17^th hole before a 5-foot birdie putt at No. 18 matched the 14-under-par total of Verplank and Corey Pavin.

While Verplank said the bunker shot at 15 was the best he ever hit under the circumstances, it was his 8-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole that he most recalled.

"That was probably more clutch than the bunker shot," Verplank said. "I was just trying to play and see how low I could shoot and see what it got me. But then I knew Bubba had hit it to a couple inches (on the first playoff hole), and I knew I had to make it to keep going. So that actually to me was the probably a more clutch shot than the bunker shot."

Verplank, a five-time tour winner who will be 47 on July 9, has battled more problems with his left wrist this year that have forced him to withdraw from several tournaments. The Travelers will be only his 10^th start, and he has made six cuts, with his best finish being a tie for second in the Shell Houston Open behind Phil Mickelson.

"It's kind of a broken record," Verplank said of his continued ailments. "I just kind of haven't been able to play very much this year, but that's fine. I'm kind of getting up there in age, so I don't mind being home quite as much. But I'm really looking forward to coming back here. I love this golf course. I've done very well around here and had a lot of good rounds, so I'm excited to be here this week."

This will be Verplank's 11^th start in Cromwell, and after missing the cut in four of his first five starts, he has finished T17, fourth, T21, T9 and T2 with 14 rounds in the 60s, including a record-tying, 9-under-par 61 in the final round in 2001, when Mickelson won his first of two consecutive titles.

SLIM AND TRIM BESSETTE

A slimmed-down Andy Bessette, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Travelers, is back in action after undergoing patent foramen ovale surgery to repair a hole in his heart on May 12. The procedure is similar to what New England Patriots linebacker Tedy Bruschi had in 2005 and eventually led to his retirement from the NFL and a move to ESPN in Bristol.

The hole was discovered after Bessette saw a doctor after sustaining a mini-stroke.

"I went in for a physical, and they found I had this hole in my heart," Bessette said while making the rounds again at River Highlands on Tuesday. "They all looked at me and said, 'Plug it.' I said, 'How do we do that?' Fifteen years ago, they would have cut me open. Now they have this new technique where they go up through the femoral arteries in both your legs, put a catheter through the hole and employ a two-sided wire mesh umbrella."

Bessette joked about the irony of his heart having two umbrellas, the symbol of the Travelers. The muscle was expected to grow over in six weeks, which just happened to be Thursday, the first round of the tournament. Meanwhile, Bessette has followed a strict "Heart Healthy Diet" he discovered on the American Heart Association website and lost 41 pounds, 265 to 224.

"The doctor told me to do that, and I said, 'You've got to be kidding me. That can't possibly work,' " Bessette said with a wide smile. "I've got four more pounds to go, but I knew 220 to 225 was a safe place for me because if I went any lower I'd end up going back up again. Plus, you need to be able to live with your diet."

Before the surgery, Bessette received a phone call from Bruschi. He had told longtime ESPN employee Chris Berman of his situation, and Berman informed Bruschi, who also now works for the Worldwide Leader in Sports and called Bessette.

"Tedy was very encouraging," Bessette said. "It meant a lot to hear that, knowing how well he has done."

COLANDRO KNOWS ALL ABOUT MCILROY

Two-time Connecticut Open champion Mike Colandro of Cromwell isn't surprised by what Rory McIlroy has accomplished the past few years, especially in the U.S. Open last week, when he broke 12 records including a 16-under-par 268 total that shattered the 72-hole standard by four strokes. McIlroy also joined Lee Janzen (1993) and Lee Trevino (1968) as the only players to shoot in the 60s in all four rounds.

"I played against Rory on the European Tour when he was 15-16 years old and he was making cuts even at that young age," said Colandro, who is a teaching pro at Brown's Driving Range in Windsor. "I knew he was going to be really good some day, and he sure has proved it."... When Janzen, a two-time U.S. Open champion, was one of four players to shoot 5-under-par 67 and earn a spot in the 156-man field in open qualifying Monday at Gillette Ridge Golf Course in Bloomfield, he became the 16^th winner of a major championship in the tournament.

DAILEY PROVES PROPHETIC

University of Connecticut associate women's basketball coach Chris Dailey hoped to play with Bubba Watson in the Celebrity Pro-Am on Wednesday for the second straight year but knew it wasn't likely to happen.

"I think some folks pay something special to play with the defending champion, so I don't think I'll be with him this year," Dailey said with a wry smile before the Celebrity Pro-Am pairings were announced after she played in the Tournament Players Pro-Am on Monday with Tommy "Two Gloves" Gainey.

Dailey predicted correctly. Watson will tee off in the first group off the first tee at 6:50 a.m. Dailey will be in the 12:40 p.m. group off No. 1 headed by pro Brian Davis, who might be a favorite to win since he's paired with the woman who has been an assistant to Basketball Hall of Famer and 2012 U.S. Olympic coach Geno Auriemma throughout his 26 years and seven national championships in Storrs.

Other notable pro-am pairings, all off the first tee, include singer Eddie Money with Charley Hoffman at 7 a.m.; UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun with assistant George Blaney and singer Michael Bolton with Ryan Moore at 7:30 a.m.; former UConn and current Boston Celtics star Ray Allen with former UConn guard and assistant Kevin Ollie and his caddie, Tallwood CC in Hebron pro John Nowobilski, with 2003 U.S. Open winner Jim Furyk at 7:50; former UConn forward and Quinnipiac assistant Scott Burrell with former UConn assistant and Quinnipiac coach Tom Moore and former NFL wide receiver and TV personality Ahmad Rashad with Brendon de Jonge at 8:20; actor Joe Pesci with Vaughn Taylor at 12:10 p.m.; and Berman and former New England Patriots Doug Flutie and Andre Tippett with 2006 Buick (now Travelers) Championship and Fairfield native J.J. Henry at 12:20.

But the most inspiring group to watch will be pro Chris DiMarco playing with three Wounded Warriors - Daniel Perry, James Gordon and John Faulkenberry. They tee at 1:20 p.m. off the first tee, so make sure that you saw hello and thanks at some time during their round, perhaps when they walk up the 18^th fairway around 3:45.

Plenty of terrific groups for fans to watch at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell in the first two rounds of the Travelers Championship. The 156-man field, which begins play each day at 6:50 a.m., includes six present and past tournament champions, along with 16 major championship winners.

Long-hitting crowd favorite Bubba Watson will begin his quest to join fellow lefty Phil Mickelson (2001-02) as the only repeat winner in tournament history at 12:55 p.m. Thursday on the first tee with Brandt Snedeker and 2006 U.S. Open champion Geoff Oglivy, who is playing in the event for the first time in 10 years. They will tee off at 7:45 a.m. on Friday.

Other featured pairings the first two rounds include:

First tee Thursday-10^th tee Friday

Jay Williamson (Trinity College)-Nick O'Hern-Bryce Molder, 7:12-12:22; Nick Watney-Aaron Baddeley-Vijay Singh, 7:45-12:55; Nathan Green-Kenny Perry-Marc Turnesa, 7:56-1:06; David Duval-Matt Jones-Michael Sim, 8:18-1:28; Brad Faxon-Tim Petrovic (University of Hartford)-Chris DiMarco, 8:29-1:39; Dean Wilson-Brendon deJonge-James Driscoll (Taft School), 12:22-7:12; Keegan Bradley-David Toms-Ian Poulter, 12:44-7:34; Matt Bettancourt-Trevor Immelman-J.B. Holmes, 1:06-7:56; Woody Austin-Kevin Stadler-Cameron Tringale, 1:17-8:07; Michael Thompson-Will Strickler (Madison)-Kevin Tway, 2:12-9:02.

10^th tee Thursday-First tee Friday

Stuart Appleby-Troy Matteson-John Rollins, 7:23-12:33; Lucas Glover-Jim Furyk-Kevin Chappell, 7:34-12:44; Hunter Mahan-Zach Johnson-Padraig Harrington, 7:45-12:55; Joe Ogilvie-Corey Pavin-Billy Mayfair, 8:07-1:17; Bio Kim, Matt McQuillan-Fran Marrello (Canaan Country Club), 9:02-2:12; J.J. Henry (Fairfield)-Vaughn Taylor-Garrett Willis, 12:22-7:12; Jerry Kelly (University of Hartford)-Justin Leonard-Scott Verplank, 12:33-7:23; Martin Laird-Jhonattan Vegas-Charley Hoffman, 12:44-7:34; Brendan Steele-Carl Pettersson-Anthony Kim, 12:55-7:45; John Daly-Josh Teater-Craig Bowden, 1:06-7:56; D.J. Trahan-Chris Stroud-Tommy Gainey, 1:28-8:18.

CROMWELL - Rory McIlroy won't be at TPC River Highlands this week for the Travelers Championship as he takes some serious time off for R&R after his historic U.S. Open victory at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

His break started with an outing Monday in Mashpee on Cape Cod at Willowbend Country Club, the creation of Reebok founder Paul Fireman.

"We were checking the leader board all weekend to see how far he would go," Casey Sherman of Altus Marketing & Management, which organized the outing for Fireman Capital Partner's investors and business partners, told those at the club. "We got a little nervous about him showing up when he won, but he did and he couldn't have been nicer."

McIlroy arrived at Willowbend in a black SUV limousine after a charter flight from Washington with an unshaven face and no sleep and played with Fireman and his son, Dan.

"It hasn't sunk in yet," McIlroy told a horde of reporters at Willowbend. "It's all a big blur, but I know I played very well and it's nice to get my major career up and running."

McIlroy didn't leave Congressional until almost midnight after fulfilling numerous responsibilities with the media and U.S. Golf Association. He returned to his hotel for a celebration, sipping champagne from the Open trophy. He tried to enjoy some Guinness, but it was a poor facsimile of the pints poured in his hometown of Holywood, County Downs.

"It's not quite the same and doesn't travel well in the States, but no complaints," McIlroy said.

Other pros on hand at Willowbend included Travelers Championship entries Vijay Singh, Ian Poulter, Anthony Kim and Rocco Mediate, as well as Cristie Kerr, who defends this week in the Wegmans LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club in Pittsford, N.Y.

McIlroy's time off will now continue until the 140^th British Open on July 14-17 at Royal St. George's Golf Club in Sandwich, England, after he announced Tuesday that he had withdrawn from next week's French Open, where Travelers Championship defending champion Bubba Watson will make his first start in a non-major in Europe.

The 22-year-old McIlroy was supposed to do his first live interview since leaving Congressional CC on "Morning Drive" on the Golf Channel on Tuesday after flying into Heathrow Airport in London. But after the network promoted the chat for two hours, it never happened and was rescheduled for Wednesday - hopefully. Unfortunately for the network, the supposed interview was promoted for another two hours in a repeat of the show.

Fortunately, the "Morning Drive" audience got to hear from Arnold Palmer, a Golf Channel founder and two-time winner of the Insurance City Open at Wethersfield Country Club whose seven major victories include a record come-from-behind U.S. Open victory in 1960.

Palmer, the most popular player in golf history, spoke glowingly of McIlroy, who gained international acceptance for qualities that resemble The King.

"Going back to 1964 (the first U.S. Open at Congressional), I remember the course seemed more difficult than (McIlroy) was making it play," Palmer said. "We had some (low) scoring, but it wasn't anything like Rory did in the Open. That was pretty fantastic, and I was a great admirer of his during the tournament."

Palmer had several blowout victories among his 63 on the PGA Tour, and he said the hardest part of a large lead is thinking about it and trying not to remember any mistakes you might make.

"You just have to go on and keep playing," Palmer said. "I always felt like if I could just stick with my basic game plan I could handle situations like that. There have been times when I didn't, but a few of the times it worked out pretty well."

So who does McIlroy most remind Palmer of among his contemporaries?

"I was thinking about that while I watched, and he was so good it was very hard for me to compare him to anybody," Palmer said. "He may set a new pace in the face of golf right now. Certainly we were all watching and rooting for him. It was amazing how well he played, how he conducted himself. Very, very impressive."

Palmer was at the Stanwich Club in Greenwich two weeks ago for the Palmer Cup pitting the top collegiate players from the United States and Great Britain-Ireland that included Patrick Cantley, a UCLA freshman who is in the Travelers Championship on a sponsors' exemption after being low amateur in the U.S. Open.

As an all-time fan favorite, Palmer must have imparted his feelings on the obligations the youngsters at Stanwich have to give back to the game. He imparted those sentiments about McIlroy on Golf Channel.

"That is something that's very, very important and something that he as a young man understands," Palmer said. "It's a difficult situation for him, but it's one that he'll face for the rest of his life, to give back to the game that has made him so famous. Just in the last few years or the last week, he has got an obligation now that will hang with him for the rest of his life.

"I think Rory has set a pace that's going to help golf immensely. He has that free look and could put back all the things that are missing in golf. The enthusiasm and talent all around the world. And I mean world because golf is not just the USGA or the R&A. It's all around the world, and Rory has set a pace for every young man to emulate."

McIlory also will no longer be able to go to the movies or the grocery store without being recognized, and Palmer recommended that Rory not change anything.

"Just be natural, just be yourself," Palmer said. "Don't try to put on anything big. Just be Rory McIlroy and live his life like he would like to. There are things that are going to be a little difficult for him, but it'll be fun for him. It'll be something that he can enjoy, and most important is to live his life, to enjoy his life and to do the things that he enjoys doing and enjoy the people who are rooting for him and pulling for him all the time."

At Willowbend, McIlroy's father, Gerry, who received a giant bear hug and "Happy Father's Day" from his son as he walked off the 18^th green Sunday, assured everyone that Rory's first major achievement won't change him.

"His mother (Rose) won't let it happen," Gerry said. "When he's home, he still has to pick up his laundry and dishes. He'll stay grounded, believe me."

CROMWELL - The biggest story of the Travelers Championship won't happen until the new champion is crowned early Sunday night.

But the most inspiring story of Connecticut's largest sporting event occurred Monday afternoon.

D.J. Gregory, who has walked every hole of every PGA Tour event since the start of the 2008 season with a cane, pain and a smile, played in the Tournament Players Pro-Am at TPC River Highlands.

Gregory was sponsored by The First Tee of Connecticut, which received a $26,000 donation from the Walking For Kids Foundation that he established two years ago.

Gregory used a golf cart, but that's not the norm for the 33-year-old from Savannah, Ga.

Then again, little has ever been normal about D.J. Gregory.

When Gregory was 2 years old, doctors told his parents their youngest of three children would never walk again because of Cerebral Palsy. Young D.J. quickly dismissed such talk. He initially got around by sliding with the use of his arms. As he grew, he learned to walk with two canes, and then one. Now, while visiting 45 PGA Tour events annually, D.J. covers more than 1,000 miles while walking nearly 3,500 holes, including playoffs and special events such as his season-ending Shark Shootout hosted by Hall of Famer Greg Norman, whose 88 wins worldwide include two British Opens and the 1995 Greater Hartford Open.

On Feb. 2, Gregory was at The First Tee of Connecticut office in Rocky Hill visiting with three of his biggest fans, 8-year-old Cameron Ledford, who also has CP, and his parents, Jim and Tricia. Cameron's strong interest in golf began last year in TFTCT program after seeing D.J. on an ESPN special. Cameron was supposed to meet D.J. during the 2010 Travelers Championship to strike up a friendship and find out about the struggles of learning the game. But they could never connect, and D.J. had to leave on Sunday morning so he missed Bubba Watson, one of his closest friends and a member of the Walking For Kids Foundation Board of Directors, winning his first PGA Tour title.

But D.J. was in Rocky Hill in February and stayed an extra day because a snow-rain-ice storm postponed a dinner at DISH Restaurant in downtown Hartford at which Gregory was to present the $26,000 check to TFTCT. Gregory waited until the next day to fly to the Phoenix Open but not before taking several pictures during a luncheon at DISH, one of an ever-growing number of financial supporters of TFTCT.

During the luncheon, Gregory surprised TFTCT officials when he said they would again be one of his Foundation's beneficiaries this year, so it was appropriate that one of the world's most inspiring individuals was at TPC River Highlands on Monday, swinging and smiling to the delight of anyone fortunate enough to see or meet him.

That included Watson, who was among the first players to arrive at River Highlands after missing the cut in the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md. Watson met Gregory about two years ago and told him how much he admired what D.J. was doing.

"We became friends, talk once in awhile on the phone and text-message each other," Watson said before a practice session. "Then we played a round of golf together, and he asked me to be a part of the Foundation. I told him I'd love to do it.

"It's an easy thing. He's a great guy. I love what he's trying to do for everybody. And he's passionate about it, so why wouldn't you want to be involved in something like that?"

Watson was part of Gregory's book, "Walking With Friends," and the two will be especially close again this week as the Travelers Championship's defending champion will be the subject of D.J.'s daily diary on pgatour.com for the third time, the others being in the 2008 Masters and 2010 Farmers Insurance Open.

"We give each other all kinds of crap," a chuckling Gregory said. "Bubba is great, one of the nicest guys out here, by far. Bubba and I are very close friends, and that's why we joke around so much."

Watson also will make a to-be-determined donation to D.J.'s Foundation for every birdie and eagle he makes in the tournament that starts Thursday. Gregory also will be following Glastonbury native and University of Hartford graduate Tim Petrovic, who also will be donating to D.J.'s Foundation.

So what if Watson and Petrovic are on the opposite sides of the draw the first two rounds?

"If they have morning and afternoon times, then I'll go 36 holes," Gregory said.

As amazing as that sounds, it wouldn't be a first. Gregory did 36 holes a day three weeks ago at the HP Byron Nelson Championship in Irving, Texas, and two weeks ago with Jason Gore and Paul Stankowski at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in Memphis, Tenn., where it was 100 degrees.

At last week's U.S. Open, Gregory documented the exploits of up-and-coming Australian star Jason Day, who finished second in a major championship for the second straight time, though it was a distant eight strokes behind winner and fellow twentysomething Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland.

"We won the net flight," Gregory said with another wide smile. "But Jason was the only guy to play the last 45 holes without a bogey."

The U.S. Open was Gregory's second runner-up finish this year, joining the second at the Arnold Palmer Invitational with Steve Marino, who always has a good following at River Highlands as his father is a Glastonbury native. Gregory's only "victory" came with Ben Crane in the 2010 Farmers Insurance Open, where he did double duty with Watson.

Monday morning, Gregory hopped on a 7:05 a.m. flight in Baltimore, Md., arrived at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks just after 8 and took his first swing around 12:30 p.m. in a group with 21-year-old Morgan Hoffmann, who left Oklahoma State after his junior year and will make his pro debut this week on the first of seven sponsors' exemptions.

Monday was the third pro-am that Gregory played this year, the most recent having been with Rocco Mediate, who is also in the field this week, in the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March. D.J. didn't learn he was in the field until Sunday afternoon after a spot opened and The First Tee of Connecticut donated $1,000 to the Travelers Championship kitty.

"It was a small price for us to give back and worth every penny for all that D.J. has done for us," TFTCT president and executive director David Polk said. "And it's great for the tournament to have someone like D.J. here. It's inspirational."

Gregory had to dust off some rust from his game because he hadn't played since he teed it up with mom two weeks ago in Savannah, Ga.

"I had a few days off so I went home and shot 106 and 101," Gregory said with pride.

Gregory's handicap is 36, but the maximum for a PGA Tour pro-am is 21. He played from the forward tees and was as competitive as anyone, apologizing to his partners for a bad start on their first hole, the par-3 16^th, after not hitting any balls on the practice range.

But it took only one shot for Hoffmann to utter, "Man, that's awesome."

Awesome hardly does justice to what Gregory does to play golf. After he wobbles - his word - to the ball, he leans on his cane for balance as he lines up a shot and then hits it one-handed. On severely sloped ground, he also leaned on caddie Neil Comeau of Middletown, a former roommate and classmate at Springfield College in the early 1990s who has been on the Walking For Kids Foundation board of directors since Day One.

"It's pretty amazing how he keeps going," Comeau said.

Gregory hopes to play again in the John Deere Classic pro-am in two weeks, but he's at the mercy of tournament sponsors to give him an available spot.

If Freeman had his way, he'd offer Gregory a spot every week.

"My jaw just dropped when I saw his first shot," said Hoffmann, who knew of Gregory and had seen specials on him but had never seen him hit a ball. "He's unbelievable, and I still can't believe how he's playing. It just shows so much dedication and belief in yourself. You can learn a lot from the guy as far as never giving up.

"It's amazing what the mind can do after the doctor has told you that you wouldn't walk. Now he ends up walking every PGA Tour event. It's just unbelievable and should be a lesson to everybody out there to never give up. It's something special to watch."

It would be special for Gregory to make the Travelers Championship an annual stop.

"I really like what Travelers and The First Tee do here," Gregory said. "I like the people and like what it's about, so it's a natural fit."

Sounds like a natural fit forever.

West Hartford's Natalie Sheary failed to make a birdie Sunday for the first time in 10 rounds as a pro as she shot 3-over-par 75 to finish in a five-way tie for 52^nd in the LPGA Futures Tour's Tate & Lyle Players Championship at Hickory Point Golf Club in Decatur, Ill.

Sheary, who tied for eighth and 11^th in her first two pro starts, had a 72-hole total of 3-over 291, which was 19 higher than Valertine Derrey of Paris, France. Sheary earned $832, while Derrey pocketed $17,500 for winning the tour's only 72-hole event and major championship.

Derrey had five birdies, including at No. 18, in a closing 68 for 271 and a five-stroke victory over Tiffany Jon (72) of San Diego, Calif., and Leanne Bowditch of Queensland, Australia, who made her fourth birdie and third in the last five holes at the 18^th to gain a share of second. Jon, who will defend in the ING New England Golf Classic July 15-17 at Wintonbury Hillls Golf Club in Bloomfield, and Bowditch each won $10,703.

The tour continues Friday with the start of the Island Resort Championship in Harris, Mich.

West Hartford's Natalie Sheary shot her first over-par round of the week to slip into a tie for 34th heading into the final round of the Futures Tour's Tate & Lyle Players Championship at Hickory Point Golf Club in Decatur, Ill.

Sheary had four bogeys and three birdies in a 1-over 73 for a 54-hole total of 216, which is 12 strokes higher than Valentine Derrey of Paris, France. Sheary started the day tied for 31st after opening 72-71 and will have to push hard to early a tie for eighth and 11th in her first two pro starts.

Derrey, a former French National Team member and All-American at Texas Christian University, rallied from two back at the turn with four birdies in a back-nine, 4-under 32 for 67 and a one-stroke lead over Tiffany Joh of San Diego, who was 4 under on the front nine but made nine pars coming in for 68. Joh won the ING New England Classic last year at Wintonbury Hills Golf Club in Bloomfield, where she will defend July 15-17.

Two-timer winner Lisa Ferrero (71) of Lodi, Calif., Jane Rah (72) of Torrance, Calif., Sofie Andersson (72) of Angelholm, Sweden, and second-round leader Mo Martin (73) of Altadena, Calif., are tied for third at 207.

This is the Futures Tour's only 72-hole tournament and major championship.

Past champions Brad Faxon and Woody Austin, 2011 runner-up Scott Verplank and former University of Hartford teammates Jerry Kelly and Tim Petrovic were among the final additions to the Travelers Championship on Friday.

Others on the 152-man list of players released by tournament officials included Taft School-Watertown grad James Driscoll, 2002 PGA Championship winner Rich Beem, former Madison resident Will Strickler and Trinity College grad Jay Williamson, who lost a playoff to Hunter Mahan in 2007.

Young standout Rickie Fowler, who tied for 13th in his Travelers Championship debut last year, posted on his Twitter account Saturday night that he withdrew from the $6 million tournament at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell because of a minor knee injury sustained while missing the cut in the U.S. Open. He also withdrew from the CVS Caremark Charity Classic Monday and Tuesday at Rhode Island Country Club in Barrington, R.I., and was replaced by 2001 PGA Championship winner David Toms, who ended a five-year victory drought on the PGA Tour in the MasterCard Invitational at Colonial last month and is playing in the Travelers Championship after missing the cut in the U.S. Open.

Faxon, Williamson, two-time majors champion John Daly, 2001 runner-up Billy Andrade, Patrick Cantlay, Morgan Hoffman and Kevin Tway, son of 1986 PGA Championship winner Bob Tway, received sponsors exemptions. Cantlay, who just finished his freshman year at UCLA, and Hoffman, a junior at Oklahoma State, are two of the top collegiate players in the country who will be playing in their first tour event.

Cantlay, who is remaining an amateur, was a Hogan Award finalist this year and ranked No. 1 by Golfweek and No. 2 in the world by the Royal & Ancient after winning three collegiate tournaments and being a NCAA regional champion. He lost in the 2010 U.S. Amateur semifinals to eventual winner Peter Uihlein and is tied for 15th in the U.S. Open after shooting a 4-under-par 67 on Friday.

Hoffman was a Hogan Award semifinalist this year and is ranked eighth in the world by the R&A and 12th in the college ranks by Golfweek. He was the recipient of the Phil Mickelson Award in 2009 as the nation's top freshman. He finished third in the 2005 Greater Hartford Jaycees Junior Championship.

Tway, who won the 2005 U.S. Junior Amateur Championship at Longmeadow (Mass.) Country Club, will make his pro debut after completing his senior year at Oklahoma State.

The final four spots in the 156-man field will be determined in the open qualifier Monday at Gillette Ridge Golf Club in Bloomfield. The $6 million tournament starts Thursday and runs through June 26.

Connecticut's largest sporting event has one of its best fields in years with 14 major champions, 32 players who have won PGA Tour events the last two years, 13 of the Top 30 on the current FedExCup standings and 30 players in the Top 50 on the 2010 tour money list. The field has a total of 323 tour victories.

"We're thrilled with the caliber of players coming to play the Travelers Championship this year," tournament director Nathan Grube said in a statement. "The depth of the field, combined with an array of on-course events and activities, illustrates why this is world-class event that both golf and non-golf fans can enjoy."

Long-hitting Bubba Watson, who birdied the 18th hole Friday to make the U.S. Open cut, will try to join Phil Mickelson (2001-02) as the only repeat winners in the history of the tournament that began as the Insurance City Open at Wethersfield Country Club in 1952. Watson won last year when he parred the second playoff hole to beat Verplank and Corey Pavin, who also lost in a playoff with Billy Ray Brown in 1991, the first year of TPC River Highlands.

Opening ceremonies are Monday at 9 a.m., followed by the Tournament Players Pro-Am.

Natalie Sheary continued her steady play Friday in her third professional start.

The West Hartford resident had one birdie and 17 pars in a 1-under-par 71 to move from a tie for 41^st to a share of 30^th at 1-under 143 after two rounds of the LPGA Futures Tour's Tate & Lyle Players Championship in Decatur, Ill.

Sheary, who tied for eighth and 11^th in her first two pro starts, is nine strokes behind Mo Martin, a two-time tour winner from Altadena, Calif. Martin had five birdies and no bogeys in a second straight 67 for a one-stroke lead over Sofie Andersson of Angelholm, Sweden (67) and Jan Rah of Torrance, Calif. (66). Andersson had eight birdies and three bogeys, while Rah duplicated Martin's round with five birdies and no bogeys.

First-round leader Tiffany Joh, the 2010 ING New England Golf Classic champion, slipped from 66 to 71 and dropped into a five-way tie for fifth in the Futures Tour's only 72-hole event and major championship.

A major "wow" and shoutout to the Travelers Championship on landing former U.S. Open champions Jim Furyk, the 2010 FedEx Cup champion, and Geoff Oglivy to next week's field on Wednesday.

Three-time PGA Tour winner Sean O'Hair also committed to the tournament, which has opening ceremonies Monday and concludes June 26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

"We are extremely excited to welcome Jim, Geoff and Sean back to TPC River Highlands," tournament director Nathan Grube said in a statement. "All three players will play for the first time since Travelers became our title sponsor, and we're thrilled about the strength of our field this year.

Ranked 19^th in the Official World Golf Rankings, Furyk had a career year in 2010 with a career-high three of his 16 tour victories in the Transitions Championship, The Heritage and The Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola. He has had two top-10 finishes in 14 starts this year, a tie for ninth in both the Hyundai Tournament of Championship and Arnold Palmer Invitational. A borderline Hall of Famer, Furyk will make his fourth trip to Cromwell but first since a tie for 61st in the 2001 Canon Greater Hartford Open. His best finish is fourth in 2000.

After another 10-year hiatus from River Highlands, Ogilvy returns with seven PGA titles, including the 2006 U.S. Open. Ranked 32nd in the world, the South Australia native has five top-25 finishes in nine starts this year, including a tie for fourth in the Masters.

O'Hair's only other TPC River Highlands appearance was in 2006. He, 2007 Buick (now Travelers) Championship winner Hunter Mahan, Anthony Kim and Nick Watney are four of six tour players under 30 to have at least three tour victories. O'Hair has struggled much of this year with his best finish a tie for 16^th at the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial.

If you want a belly-aching laugh, go to YouTube and watch the new "music" video "Oh Oh Oh" of the newly formed Golf Boys, a.k.a., Ben Crane, Ricky Fowler and Buick/Travelers Championship winners Hunter Mahan and Bubba Watson.

This foursome won't be confused with Michael Bolton, Eddie Money or Huey Lewis and the News, who will be performing during next week's Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, but it sure adds some pizzazz to a normally stoic game - and raises more money for charity, which is something the PGA Tour does better than any other sport on earth.

Videographer/prankster Crane previously released several videos, including a workout routine that has got nearly 600,000 views on YouTube. But this one is a takeoff of the Village People as Bubba looks like an extra from "Deliverance" in his overalls that disclose his hairy chest, Ricky appears as if he's auditioning for a boyband that he has always wanted to be part of; Hunter is a cross between a pimp and an out-of-shape sports writer; and Ben again impersonates a workout geek, this time with a helmet.

Watson, who won his first PGA Tour title in a playoff in the Travelers Championship last year and added two more two earlier this year, told Golf Channel he would rather win a music award as a farmer than lift the U.S. Open trophy that he'll start shooting for Thursday at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

"It's in the roots," Bubba said, alluding to growing up in Baghdad, Fla., on the Florida Panhandle.

The video released Tuesday night on the Golf Channel is a must watch, even though some on the Internet have already mocked it. Hey, folks, it's not a video that Hogan, Nicklaus, Player and J.C. Snead would do, but it's a parody poking fun at pop music. The guys are hardly polished and won't be giving up their day jobs/games anytime soon, but that's the way it's supposed to be.

Not to mention that Farmers Insurance will donate $1,000 for every 100,000 views of the video to benefit charities supported by Crane and the insurance company. That's reason enough to take as many views as possible.

And hopefully Bubba will bring a copy of the video to the White House on Wednesday afternoon, when he, Phil Mickelson and 2012 U.S. Ryder Cup captain Davis Love will fulfill an invite from President Barack Obama. The prez is an avid golfer and left-handed like Bubba and Phil, so he'll be sure to be trying to pick up some free tips/lessons.

Travelers Championship officials are always looking to expand the scope of what is already Connecticut's largest sporting event.

Well, they've done it again this year with announcement Wednesday that Grammy Award-winning artist Michael Bolton will return to Connecticut to support the tournament next week.

Bolton will compete in the Travelers Celebrity Pro-Am next Wednesday after performing a benefit concert on Tuesday night at 7:30 at The Bushnell Center for the Performing Arts to raise funds for The Michael Bolton Charities for Children & Women at Risk with special guest artists, including Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Dave Mason, Australian singer/actress, Delta Goodrem and acclaimed singer-songwriter and guitarist Orianthi.

"We look forward to having Michael Bolton join us again this year," Travelers Championship tournament director Nathan Grube said in a statement. "The Travelers Championship is proud to join a great ambassador like Michael Bolton in this effort. We are excited to partner with Michael to build awareness and funds for The Michael Bolton Charities. This concert is just one of many unique ways that this PGA Tour event continues to support charities in the region."

Michael Bolton has sold more than 53 million records, released 20 studio albums, won multiple Grammy Awards for Best Male Vocalist and countless other honors while selling out arenas worldwide. In 2002, the singer-songwriter earned a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame and has performed with legends such as Luciano Pavarotti and Ray Charles, written songs with greats from Bob Dylan to Lady Gaga, penned hits for a diverse range of artists, including Barbra Streisand and KISS, played guitar with B.B. King and had his music recorded on a track by hip-hop superstar Kanye West (featuring Jay-Z).

"The tournament continues to be good for the community and by creating new partnerships, the Travelers Championship is focused on generating more funds for organizations like The Michael Bolton Charities," said Andy Bessette, executive vice president and chief administrative officer of Travelers. "We're happy that Michael has committed his time and talents to help raise awareness for the tournament's charitable work while helping his charity do more for others."

The Michael Bolton Charities, Inc. was founded in 1993 and is based in his home state of Connecticut. The major focus of The MBC is the critical issue of violence against women. Since its inception, The MBC has dispersed more than $6 million in grants to various organizations that support children and women at risk of poverty, abuse, neglect, homelessness and domestic violence.

Tickets for the Michael Bolton & Friends Concert are $75 for mezzanine and $50 for balcony and can be purchased now at www.bushnell.org or by calling the box office at 860-987-5900. VIP passes are also available and include a pre-show dine-around cocktail reception along with a one-day ticket to the tournament, which begins with opening ceremonies on Monday and concludes with a winning being crowned June 26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

For more information on the tournament, pease contact marketing and media manager Scott Dolch at sdolch@travelerschampionship.com  For more information on Bolton, contact Sonia Muckle at Sonia@M2MConstruction.com or Victor Trevino at Victor@M2MConstruction.com.

For more information on the concert, contact: Donnetta Campbell at 203-434-3548 or HUMMediaNY@gmail.com or Dina White at 516-234-0840 or dina.white@gmail.com.

Just another terrific move by Travelers and tournament officials to enhance an already terrific event.

The First Tee of Connecticut has had some terrific fundraisers the past few weeks, and now D.F. Wheeler Golf Course in Fairfield will host the first Family Golf Challenge on June 25-26 to benefit The First Tee of Metroopolitan New York.

The FGC is an amateur skills competition featuring a putting and long-drive competition designed to introduce more women and children to golf. The program for all level of players new and old is designed to engage two-person teams of adults and kids 7 to 17 in a fun, rewarding and philtantropic experience. Teams will be comprised of two family members: father/son, mother/daughter, uncle/niece, etc.

The event not only brings the family together but also gets them involved in a charitable cause. Families can register online at www.familygolfchallenge.com. The entry fee is $15, with $5 going to The First Tee of Metropolitan New York. Play will be from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on June 25 and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on June 26.

For more information, contact Tom Cosentino at 609-514-2643 or Al Abrams at 646-210-7016.

You won't find Debbie Jamgochian's name at the top of many leader boards these days, but she's a winner every time she tees it up.

Jamgochian knows all about keeping the faith -- figuratively and literally. She might have finished 51^st in her first start of the year in the Connecticut Women's Open, but she remains a champion on the links and - more importantly - in life.

Jamogchian was a budding star in the early 1970s when she was Debbie Simourian, winning the Massachusetts Women's Amateur twice, the New England Women's Amateur once and losing a playoff for the NCAA Division I Women's Championship in 1975 while at Wheaton College, hardly a golfing powerhouse.

"My father wouldn't let me go south to school," said Jamgochian, 57, who grew up in Lincoln, Mass. "He strongly believed that your education comes before anything else and didn't want me to go far away. He wouldn't let me go to a co-educational school. I had to stay in Massachusetts. Back then, you didn't apply to many schools, so I applied to Wellesley, Wheaton and Simmons, with Pine Manor as my backup. I had gone to Beaver Country Day, which was right near The Country Club (in Brookline, Mass.) and Pine Manor. He really was serious about golf for me."

Jamogchian filled out her application to turn pro at 22 but then met her future husband George, had a change of heart and decided the LPGA Tour lifestyle wasn't for her. They raised two sons, George and John, who played golf when not working as real estate brokers. And when Debbie was 27, she lost her 4-month-old daughter, Jill, to crib death.

"There's a lesbian element on the tour, and it's hard to be around when you get hit on, so it's bizarre," Jamgochian said. "It's a lot better than it used to be, but it's still there. ... I also was kind of burned out at that point and kind of stopped playing. But all along I thought if I can just keep my bounce until I'm 50 and become a senior, I'd play again, then multiple sclerosis at 47."

While family was more vital than chasing LPGA glory, Jamgochian continued to play golf, maintaining a single-digit handicap as she won the women's club championship a staggering 10 times at famed Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, N.Y. But all that changed in the spring of 2001.

While playing in the Women's Metropolitan (N.Y.) Golf Association Match Play Championship, Jamgochian suddenly got double vision as she turned to hear something her caddie was saying. The condition persisted, and when she visited a doctor for a diagnosis, she was told it was multiple sclerosis, a brain tumor or Lyme disease.

Jamgochian prayed for the latter but soon learned it was the former. She was bedridden 21 hours a day for four years, and the debilitating MS forced her to use two hands to lift a glass of water.

"It was four years before I could lift a golf club," Jamgochian said. "I had three hours a day where I could get out of bed at about 3-3:30 in the afternoon so I could mask my condition so what my son John would see is a normal mother. I'd be up for dinner and then go back to bed. And my son George had gone on to college, so he didn't see any of it. It was good timing but unbelievable. I had to get a housekeeper to do the cooking. I showed her recipes that she could make that would last a few days."

But Jamgochian insists, "In retrospect, I was glad it was the MS."

"I feel fortunate it was MS and that it was a mild case because I feel I can control it," she said. "I have to avoid acute stress and prolonged exposure to excessively warm weather (in excess of 95 degrees). My sister wonders how I can endure the pressure of tournaments without it triggering the MS, but I know my game. I know what I can do and what I can't do, so I play the shots I believe I can make. There's no stress when you've practiced, only when you haven't."

Jamgochian also knows what doesn't work for her. Like Copaxone, which she subcutaneously self-injected at six spots daily for four years but increasingly caused a bad reaction that mimicked a heart attack.

"I did the injections at night because it was so painful, but ultimately I fell asleep," Jamgochian said.

She also couldn't tolerate Avonex, which gave her flu-like symptoms after weekly injections for seven weeks.

"Taking Avonex made things worse," she said. "I couldn't walk because I couldn't bend my knees, so I dragged myself into the doctor's office and just said I'm not going to take anything. I'm such a religious person and was reading the Bible every day. I had a revelation, so it was like my faith in God took over.

"I'd always been athletic, could do almost anything like basketball, field hockey and lacrosse, with golf being sort of my fourth sport in the summer time. But it was strange that when I started reading the Bible through and through, it says God is an angel on your right shoulder. When you get married and have children, you really don't have time to spend with God, so I felt as if He was with me."

After Jamgochian stopped taking medication, she had to start all over again to learn the game she loved and went to Sea Island, Ga., to work with sports psychologist Mo Pickens and putting coach Mike Shannon.

"I worked so hard with them," Jamgochian said, emphasizing the so.

The hard work and perseverance really paid off in 2007, when Jamgochian won the Southern New England Women's Golf Association Senior Championship, the Women's Western Senior Championship and the International Senior Women's French Open. Then after winning the 2008 Bermuda Amateur, she was ranked among the top five senior women nationally by Golf Digest. She also has played in three LPGA Tour events, including the 1975 Lady Keystone Open in which she was second low amateur; qualified for one U.S. Women's Open and several U.S. Women's Mid-Amateur and Senior Amateur Championships. And she has added four more women's club championships at Winged Foot despite needing surgery on each elbow the last two years because of persistent tendinitis.

Jamgochian said her only major concern now is making sure she doesn't allow the stress to take over or isn't in weather over 100 degrees for several days in a row.

"I can deal with 105 degrees for one day, but I can't do that for too many days," she said. "And my doctor told me I was in a poor marriage and had to get out or it will kill me. That was such a relief because I got married so young that I didn't really know what marriage was. I didn't really know about men or about anything. I just thought that was normal and 'for better or worse' and it just didn't work out.

"So that gave me the strength to say, 'I can't live with you anymore.' The stress was so bad when you wake up every morning and have someone criticize you about everything. And I'm a nice person. I make a full dinner every night. There was nothing I could do to make him happy, but I'm so much happier now living alone (in Greenwich).

"I'm psyched to play, but I'm not real happy with my game. But it's like child birth. You have to go through this because between the embarrassment and the pressure it makes you go work hard and highlight what aspect of your game needs the work."

Jamgochian doesn't need a whole lot of work with a 1.8 handicap at one of the most storied and difficult courses in the world. And to show her love for golf and Winged Foot, Jamgochian decided to honor her deceased daughter.

"Last year during our (women's) club championship, I noticed the junior boys had a championship but the junior girls didn't," Jamgochian she said. "We had one in my time so I thought, 'What can I do about this?' It came to me that I had got a beautiful Winged Foot charm every year that I had won the women's club championship, so I bought a gold charm bracelet and put one of the charms on it and dedicated in honor of my daughter. I presented it at their opening golf kickoff to encourage the girls to get out there and play for a championship. I told them it's what they could win, keep it for a year and pass it along.

"So the winner in August will get the bracelet, so something good came out of my daughter's death, right?"

Right!!!

But after all that has transpired in the last three decades, there are still those lingering thoughts of what might have been.

"I think back often about playing the tour," Jamgochian said. "It kind of gets under my skin a little. I had breakfast with (LPGA Hall of Famer) Betsy King in New York (in May), and I knew her back then. She's two years younger than me, and we were really competitive. So I've always wondered ..."

But Jamgochian doesn't doubt that life is good, multiple sclerosis or no multiple sclerosis.

"After an upcoming few days of learning the course and preparing, I can't wait to start competing again on Thursday," Sheary said.

An ailing left elbow will keep South African Tim Clark out of next week's U.S. Open.

The good news for Connecticut golf fans is that Fairfield native J.J. Henry will replace Clark in the 156-man field at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

Clark has played only twice since his runner-up finish at the Sony Open in Hawaii in January. He missed the cut at the Masters, then withdrew as the defending champion at The Players Championship last month.

Henry was the first alternate out of the sectional qualifying Monday in Columbus, Ohio. He was one of three players not to advance in a six-way playoff after shooting 7-under-par 137. One of three who did advance was Glastonbury native and University of Hartford grad Tim Petrovic.

Henry and Petrovic will be the only players with Connecticut ties to tee it up at Congressional starting Thursday. Henry will take Clark's spot in the first two rounds alongside Justin Rose of England and Jason Day of Australia. Petrovic will play with Scott Piercy and Sam Saunders, the grandson of Arnold Palmer.

Good luck to J.J. and Tim before they head back to Connecticut for the Travelers Championship on June 23-26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. Henry notched his only PGA Tour victory in his home state in 2006.

Nicole Yatsenick became one of the youngest winners of the Connecticut Women's Golf Association Championship on Friday when she made a 3-foot birdie putt on the 37th hole, the first of sudden death, to defeat Myra Macmillan.

The 17-year-old Yatsenick of the Country Club of Waterbury rallied from a 5-down deficit after 14 holes to win her first state title. Macmillan, of Oronoque CC in Stratford, was also seeking her first state crown.

In the 18-hole Founders Cup final, Priscilla Wargo of Heritage Village CC in Southbury edged Jill Tryon of Hartford Golf Club 1 up.

The possibility of a first in the Connecticut Women's Golf Association Championship at Wethersfield Country Club didn't materialize Thursday.

Both the championship flight and Founder Cup finals could have pitted members from the same club, but there will be only one player from each course in each final.

In the championship flight, 17-year-old Nicole Yatsenick of the Country Club of Waterbury will shoot for the title in her tournament debut against Myra Macmillan of Oronoque Village CC in Stratford. Yatsenick, who attends the Taft School in Watertown, defeated Mimi Schreck of Oronoque 3 and 2, and Mcmillan beat Nicole Coffey of ESPN and Pequabuck GC-Bristol, 6 and 5.

In the Founders Cup, Jill Tryon of Hartford Golf Club in West Hartford beat Joyce Curran of Heritage Village CC-Southbury 1 up, and Priscilla Wargo of Heritage Village beat Carol Galbraith of Hartford GC, 2 up.

The championship flight will be a 36-hole final, while the Founders Cup finale is 18 holes.

Baseball has little in common with golf except that each sport includes a swing, but this baseball story deserves a little space on any blog.

Local fans had plenty to cheer about with 26 players with state ties selected in the amateur draft, including two from the University of Connecticut in the top 19 picks.

But the best story occurred in the 33rd round Wednesday when Georgia's Johnathan Taylor, who was partially paralyzed after breaking his neck during a collision in a game against Florida State on March 6, was drafted by the Texas Rangers.

"He's a great kid and he's going through a terrible time in his life and we thought this would be something to uplift him," Rangers director of amateur scouting Kip Fagg told ESPNDallas.com's Richard Durrett. "I've seen the kid play since high school, he was a great player at Georgia."

Taylor, who is completing rehab at the Shepherd Spinal Center in Atlanta, is paralyzed from the waist down but showing signs of improvement. He was released to the rehab facility's day program last month.

"This was truly a classy move and a great gesture on the part of the Texas Rangers organization," Georgia coach David Perno said in a statement released by the school. "J.T. is definitely a player worthy of getting drafted. He's been a big part of our program, and we are all very excited for him. When I talked to him after he got the call, he was in the middle of his rehabilitation work, laughing and having a good time and was thrilled to be drafted."

On Monday night, the Rangers selected Georgia outfielder Zach Cone with the 37th pick overall. Cone is one of Taylor's closest friends and was the player who collided with him in the outfield.

"We talk about being a franchise about family and we care about everyone in this organization, including the kids we draft," Fagg said. "Zach is family, and we felt like Johnathan was a good person and someone we wanted to help."

Taylor's family is "very proud of him," his mother said in the statement.

"It's just amazing, and when he got the call, his face lit up, and we were all very excited," Tandra Taylor said in a statement. "It was awesome news."

Taylor wasn't immediately available for comment.

"Just knowing the relationship J.T. and Zach have, I'm just glad it was the Rangers," Perno told ESPN.com. "J.T. is a guy that definitely was a prospect going into this season and was a guy you had to watch. He was a .320 hitter and could run. Anyone who ever saw J.T. play knows that if he didn't have this tragic accident, he was going to play pro ball at some point."

Taylor, a junior from Acworth, Ga., injured the C-5 and C-6 vertebrae in his neck. He underwent neck surgery the next day at St. Mary's Hospital in Athens to stabilize his spine and was transferred to Shepherd Center on March 11.

It was the second time in three years a Georgia baseball player has been paralyzed. In October 2009, freshman second baseman Chance Veazey broke his neck when his scooter was hit by a car near campus. Veazey currently works as a student assistant on Georgia's baseball team.

Terrific, terrific job, Rangers. I'll be rooting for you to make the playoffs and maybe even win the World Series.

A batch of upsets in the first two rounds of the Connecticut Women's Golf Association Championship at Wethersfield Country Club on Wednesday, though one can't be considered all that surprising.

Qualifying medalist and top seed Jean Sennett of Wampanaog CC-West Hartford lost 2 and 1 to the 16th seed, but it happened to be four-time champion Donna Harris of Farmington Woods CC. Harris, the University of Hartford women's golf coach, had an off day in qualifying Tuesday and barely reached the championship flight with a 13-over-par 86.

Defending champion and third-seeded Lynda Foster of Silver Spring CC-Ridgefield also was eliminated, losing 3 and 2 to Diane Rothwell of Ellington Ridge CC.

Other winners were second-seeded Lisa Fern-Boros, Myra Macmillan, Nicole Coffey, Jackie Cahill, Mim Schreck and Nicole Yatsenick.

But in the second round, Macmillan ousted Harris 2 up, and Schreck edged Fern-Boros, 1 up. The other semifinalists are fourth-seeded Coffey, a 3 and 2 winner over Cahill, and Yatsenick, a 5 and 3 winner over Rothwell.

The championship and Founders Cup semifinals are Thursday and the finals are Friday. The 36-hole finale could be a matchup of players from the same club, as MacMillan (Oronoque CC-Stratford) faces Coffey (Pequabuck GC-Bristol) and Schreck (Oronoque) plays Yatsenick (Waterbury).

The same could happen in the Founders Cup as Carol Galbraith (Hartford GC) meets Priscilla Wargo (Heritage Village CC-Southbury) and Jill Tryon (Hartford GC) plays Joyce Curran (Heritage Village). They will play an 18-hole final Friday morning.

For complete results, visit www.cwga.org.

If you'd like to go to the U.S. Open, even without Tiger Woods playing, there are still a limited number of tickets available.

Here's a release that I just received from the U.S. Golf Association that spells out what you have to do to get some of the tickets:

Far Hills, N.J. (June 8) - Limited tickets remain for the 2011 U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.  

Daily Grounds and Trophy Club tickets for the practice rounds (Monday, June 13-Wednesday, June 15) and the opening championship round (Thursday, June 16) will be available for purchase on-site at Congressional. For the practice rounds, prices are $50 for daily Grounds tickets and $75 for daily Trophy Club tickets. For the first day of the championship (Thursday, June 16), Grounds tickets are $110 and Trophy Club tickets are $185.

Beginning Thursday, June 9, tickets can be purchased on-site at the U.S. Open Will Call located at the Main Admission Gate. Will Call hours of operation for Thursday, June 9 through Sunday, June 12 are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. This on-site sale of tickets coincides with the U.S. Open pre-championship merchandise sale taking place in the merchandise pavilion during the same hours.

Beginning Monday, June 13, remaining tickets can be purchased at the Main Will Call and the Clubhouse Will Call between 6 a.m. and 7 p.m., while supplies last.

Each buyer is permitted to purchase up to four tickets for each day. Tickets include complimentary general parking and shuttle transportation to and from the parking area and the championship entrance. Cameras are permitted on practice-round days only (June 13-15), providing an opportunity to photograph the world's best golfers as they prepare to compete in the national championship.

Junior tickets are always available on-site at Will Call and at all admission gates during the championship. Juniors age 12 and younger will be admitted free of charge any day when accompanied by an adult ticket holder. Tickets for juniors 13 to 17 years old will be available for purchase at a reduced rate of $15 for practice rounds and $35 for championship rounds. There is a maximum of two junior tickets per one adult ticket holder. Junior tickets permit Trophy Club access only when accompanied by an adult Trophy Club ticket holder. Junior tickets do not permit 1895 Club access.

The U.S. Open has sold out for 24 consecutive years. For more information about pricing, parking and a list of prohibited items, visit www.USOPEN.com.

Local golf fans and youngsters at eight area courses will get a shot at a special treat June 22.

For the second year in a row, PGA Tour players competing in the Travelers Championship will conduct junior golf clinics at the local clubs at 2 p.m. the day before the start of Connecticut's biggest sporting event at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

The Connecticut Section PGA Foundation is sponsoring the appearances of the tour pros at Rockledge Golf Club-West Hartford, Indian Hill CC-Newington, Lyman Orchards Golf Course-Middlefield, Shuttle Meadow CC-Kensington, Stanley GC-New Britain, Tallwood CC-Hebron, Timberlin GC-Berlin and New Haven CC.

Each site will host a 30-minute junior golf clinic followed by a 15-minute autograph session.

"We're thrilled to bring the PGA Tour to Connecticut and also to bring players to local clubs for a once in a lifetime opportunity," Travelers Championship tournament director Nathan Grube said. "We wouldn't be able to do it without the support and the vision of the Foundation whose goal has been the growth of the game especially for junior golfers."

So if you can't make it to Cromwell for the Celebrity Pro-Am, visit one of the clubs in your area for fun and informative time. Great move by section and Travelers officials, who are always looking for ways to improve the tournament.

Tiger Woods won't be shooting for a fourth U.S. Open title after all.

Woods withdrew from the 111th championship June 16-19 at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., because of injuries to his left knee and Achilles' tendon. He had WD'd from The Players Championship three weeks ago after shooting 6-over-par 42 for nine holes.

"I am extremely disappointed that I won't be playing in the U.S. Open," Woods said in a statement posted on his Web site. "But it's time for me to listen to my doctors and focus on the future. I was hopeful that I could play, but if I did, I risk further damage to my left leg.

"My knee and Achilles' tendon are not fully healed. I hope to be ready for the AT&T National, the next two majors and the rest of the year."

Woods originally was diagnosed as having a Grade 1 sprain to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee that has undergone four surgeries, most recently to reconstruct his anterior cruciate ligament. A mild strain to his left Achilles' tendon, which also had been injured previously, also was found.

The injuries occurred when Woods hit his second shot at the 17th hole in the third round of the Masters in April. His ball was on the pine straw beneath the Eisenhower tree left of the fairway, and his foot slipped during a vicious swing that required him to substantially bend both knees.

Woods missed the Wells Fargo Championship four weeks later, then withdrew after nine holes of The Players Championship the next week. At the time he said reports about the severity of the injury were exaggerated, and that he expected to be ready for the U.S. Open.

"It's been a frustrating and difficult year, but I'm committed to my long-term health," Woods said. "I want to thank the fans for their encouragement and support. I am truly grateful and will be back playing when I can."

Woods had played in 15 consecutive U.S. Opens, starting in 1996, and won in 2000, 2002 and 2008.

"We are disappointed that Tiger Woods, a three-time champion, will not be able to play in the 2011 U.S. Open," U.S. Golf Association executive director Mike Davies said in a statement. "We completely understand that he is not fully recovered from his injuries and we wish him a speedy recovery. The excitement that he generates will be missed, but the Blue Course at Congressional Country Club will surely provide an excellent test for the 156 world-class players in the field of this national championship."

Woods' spot will be taken by 23-year-old amateur Michael Whitehead of Sugar Land, Texas, who competed in sectional qualifying Monday at Dallas Athletic Club's Blue Course. Whitehead shot two 68s and earned the first alternate position in a playoff.

Anders Hansen also withdrew because of an unspecified injury. His spot will be taken by Jason Dufner, who competed in the sectional Monday at Hawks Ridge Golf Club in Ball Ground, Ga. Dufner shot 69-64 and earned the first alternate position in a playoff.

Fairfield native and 2006 Buick (now Travelers) Championship winner J.J. Henry hopes to get into the field after being first alternate in the sectional in Columbus, Ohio. He shot 137 for 36 holes but lost in a six-way playoff for three spots, with Glastonbury native and University of Hartford grad Tim Petrovic nabbing one of them.

Henry and Petrovic are in the Travelers Championship June 23-26 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. Connecticut's largest sporting event precedes the AT&T National that Woods hosts.

Major kudos to the folks at the Dick's Sporting Goods Open for giving Danbury native Ken Green an exemption to the Champions Tour in two weeks.

It comes a day before the two-year anniversary of Ken's RV horrific accident on Interstate 20 outside Meridian, Miss. Killed in the crash were Green's brother, Billy, his girlfriend Jeannie Hodgin of Greensboro, N.C., and his German Shepherd, Nip. Green, whose brother was driving the RV, sustained a broken left eye orbital and a right lower leg that was eventually amputated from the knee down so he could continue to play on the Champions Tour.

Six months later, Green's 21-year-old son Hunter was found dead in his dorm room at SMU from an accidental overdose of alcohol and drugs. And Green has spent the last six months battling more constant pain in his leg that has fueled almost constant headaches.

This week has proved a roller-coaster, according to Ken's blog.

"I had three days of absolute minimal pain and it felt oh so good," Green wrote. "Sadly, today (Tuesday) has been a nightmare, but I'm so glad I was almost normal. The idea that maybe we might be slowing down is like a kid waiting for Xmas. I see the head doctor in a couple of days but just had to spit out my news.

"The good people of Dick's Sporting Goods has granted me an exemption if I so desire to play (June 24-26 http://www.pgatour.com/tournaments/s008 ). I can't tell you how honored I am that they actually told me well in advance that they want me there. Most of you know that I'm insanely loyal to people who befriend me. I will never ever buy anything from any other store than Dick's. It's a huge pick me up to myself.

"I will keep you posted and I really hope to be better soon. I pray it was not just a fool's dream of health. Be good my friends, Ken"

Ironically, the Dick's Sporting Goods Open at En-Joie Golf Course in Endicott, N.Y., is the same weekend as the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, the tournament that meant more to Ken than any other, even major championships.

We can only hope that the good news from the good folks at Dick's Sporting Goods Open keeps a smile on Ken's face and alleviates some of his persistent pain.

And hopefully Green gets to spend some time with one of the true legends of the game, Hall of Famer Tom Watson, who committed to play in the tournament. Watson's only previous appearance at En-Joie was in 1976, when he tied for 21^st in the PGA Tour's B.C. Open.

The 61-year-old Watson has 39 PGA Tour victories, including eight majors. He has added 12 Champions Tour titles, including the recent Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla Golf Club in Louisville, Ky., where Green courageously played 30 holes in one day after rain delayed most of the first round. Despite being allowed to ride in a cart while playing on a sponsors exemtpion, Green experienced excruciating pain, with tears often welling in his eyes.

But Green refused to quite and fittingly made a 50-foot putt on his 30^th and final hole, again demonstrating how much he has inspired so many people the last two years.

Best of luck in the Dick's Sporting Goods Open, Ken, and major kudos again to the officials at the sponsor.

Congratulations to Glastonbury native and University of Hartford grad Tim Petrovic, the only player with Connecticut ties to advance through sectional qualifying for next week's U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

Petrovic nearly had another state player join, but he moved on in a six-way playoff at the expense of Fairfield native and 2006 Buick (now Travelers) Championship winner J.J. Henry.

Petrovic and Henry each shot 7-under-par 137 at Brookside Country Club and The Lakes Country Club in Columbus, Ohio. That got them into a playoff for the final three spots among 16 available in that section. Petrovic, Webb Simpson and Scott Hend advanced, while Henry and fellow PGA Tour players Brett Wetterich and Kyle Stanley were the first, second and third alternates.

Because there were so many tour players in the Columbus sectional, Henry is likely the first alternate into the 111th U.S. Open on June 16-19. He and many other leading pros, including defending champion Bubba Watson, then will move on to play in the Travelers Championship on June 23-26 at TPC River Highlands on Cromwell.

Others with Connecticut ties who failed to reach the national championship were Petrovic's former U of H teammate Jerry Kelly and Steve Marino in Columbus; Evan Beirne, John Kahlden, Brent Paladino, Bobby Gage, Chris DeJohn, John Bushka and Colin Amaral in Summit, N.J.; Ron Dellostritto, James Driscoll and Jay Williamson in Memphis, Tenn.; and Paladino's younger brother, Cody, in Dallas, Texas.

The U.S. Golf Association just sent out a pre-championship interview schedule for the U.S. Open at Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md.

Walmart + Travelers Championship + First Tee of Connecticut = Major championship winner.

Looking to enhance its brand and help future golfers and clientele, Walmart made a sizable investment to host the Walmark Classic to benefit The First Tee of Connecticut on Sunday at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, site of the Travelers Championship, Connecticut's largest sporting event.

"Since Walmart arrived in Connecticut and the New England market in the early 1990s, it has been active as far as giving back to the community and various organizations so the First Tee was a no-brainer for us," Chris Buchanan, Walmart senior manager of public affairs and government relations, said after fittingly being part of the winning team at the inaugural event. "The First Tee teaches kids good values, the ones that Walmart feels strongly about as well, so it's a nice connection for us to make.

"And we're not in it for a one-year sponsorship. We look at any group or organization we're involved with as a multi-year commitment to move forward and make sure we're active every year at various levels of sponsorship and volunteer efforts involved with our store associates. And as we go along, we're figuring out different ways that we can kind of fit into the Travelers and First Tee programs. They're great programs to be a part of, and we're in it for the long haul."

Walmart donated 75 sets of golf clubs to The First Tee last fall, and as title sponsor of the Classic donated $45,000, plus prizes and an iPad. Buchanan said Walmart might expand its involvement by having store associates volunteer during the Travelers Championship and giving away golf clubs at its local stores as it did in Rocky Hill with Donny Marshall, the former University of Connecticut and NBA player who is now a TV commentator and co-owner of the University Club in Willimantic.

"The deal with Donny and the people associated with The First Tee went really well," Buchanan said. "This is obviously the first year of the Walmart Classic, and we were excited about doing that and very much committed and actively involved in a number of different ways. There's also a lot of room for growth, so we're just scratching the surface right now. It's a no-brainer to step up and make the monetary contributions, but it's also nice to give away sets of golf clubs and find other opportunities. And the kids show what a great group of people who are part of the organization. It's not just a bunch of corporate folks who are out in a foursome teaming up to play golf. You've got the kids who are actually part of the program, and that's the way it should be.

"But like I said, we're in it for the long haul and finding different unique ways to partner with the Travelers and The First Tee of Connecticut. When a new year rolls around, we'll figure out what we're going to do at what level, but we're always in it as some level."

TFTCT executive director David Polk also felt putting the threesome together was beneficial to all the parties.

"The Travelers Championship is such a good partner of ours, and they decided they wanted us to take over the kickoff event for them so they gave us the date and their TPC deal," Polk said. "Travelers wanted to have Walmart's name connected to the tournament, and they love The First Tee. And we get a lot out of it because this is our site, and the tent (for Walmart Classic functions) tells you how close we're connected to the Travelers Championship. The kids will use the same course and practice range that the players use, so we're completely intermingled. So for us to have an event that's co-branded with the Travelers Championship makes very good sense.

"Plus, we're the future of golf. If the Travelers wants people to come to their event in the future, these are the kids who will be coming. And Walmart gets it. They understand what they need to do to be a good community citizen. They understand what The First Tee does. We're the future of their labor force. We're the future of their buyers. And we teach more than just golf. Golf is just a byproduct of what we do. If someone turns out to be a golfer, that's fine. But what we want are kids who are good kids."

The First Tee teaches nine core values - honesty, integrity, respect, sportsmanship, courtesy, judgment, confidence, responsibility and perseverance. The First Tee of Connecticut's more than 50,000 members makes it one of the largest in the country, and it is close to raising the $1 million needed to construct a learning center overlooking its home, the practice tee and four holes at TPC River Highlands.

Travelers Championship tournament director Nathan Grube said he was delighted to have something that had been played in the fall become the tournament's kickoff event. During the Walmart Classic awards ceremony, the Greater Hartford Jaycees Foundation presented a check for $5,000 to Polk and Ted May, chairman of the TFTCT board of directors.

"This is terrific on a couple of fronts," Grube said. "The date was great as far as a couple of weeks before the tournament (June 20-26), and we've been looking to do something with The First Tee for the last couple of years and trying to figure out just what the right fit was. We had supported the National School Program, and the tournament had donated cash to The First Tee, but we wanted to have a function and have our sponsors and top-level partnerships. So why not take their September event and combine it with something that we had done in the past as a sponsors' event and blow it out, take it to the next level?

"I thought if they did this right before the Travelers Championship all the tents would be up, the course would be in good shape and people would be thinking about golf. We wanted to do an experiment with it, see if it worked for all parties and raised more money than last year and was financially beneficial to Walmart having an association with the tournament."

No immediate profit numbers were available, but Polk pointed out how much successful the Walmart Classic had been already.

"Last year the kickoff event for the Travelers Championship had two foursomes," Polk said. "This year we had 22 fivesomes."

About half of participants in the Walmart Classic are sponsors of the Travelers Championship and TFTCT.

"There's a lot of overlap, and we share this home with The First Tee," Grube said, pointing toward the practice round and four holes.

Celebrity participants in the Walmart Classic included Marshall, UConn men's basketball coach Jim Calhoun, UConn women's basketball associate head coach Chris Dailey, former Notre Dame and Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Hanratty, local TV personalities Gerry Brooks, Brad Drazen, Al Terzi and Joe Zone, longtime WTIC sports announcer/commentator Scott Gray and yours truly. Emmy Award-winning journalist Dennis House, co-anchor of Ch. 3 Eyewitness News at 6 and 11 p.m., was the emcee.

A dozen TFTCT members also played, including 16-year-old Sadie Martinez of Hartford, who thanked the sponsors, celebrities, players and other financial backers for their support during the pre-awards ceremony. Sadie, a sophomore at Northwest Catholic High School in West Hartford, is in her ninth year in TFTCT program after following in her brother Dan's footsteps while the two were playing at Goodwin Golf Course in Hartford.

"Dan is seven years older than me, and when he was starting I was asking him when I could start playing," Sadie said. "The rule back then was you couldn't start until you were seven, so when I turned seven, I joined, and it has done everything for me. I don't know where I would be today without the game of golf. It has taught me life skills on and off the course. Mr. (Gary) Reynolds (former Hartford Golf Club pro and Connecticut Section PGA president) went to our group and said, 'The good thing about Sadie is her personality and how she is as a person is actually better than her own golf game.'

"It's great that I get to communicate with people that I would never communicate with. I got to play with the public relations person for Walmart (Buchanan), and I don't think that without The First Tee that I'd ever be able to play with someone like that."

The Walmart Classic was Sadie's warm-up for the CIAC Girls State Golf Championship Tuesday at Orange Hills Country Club. She said she has been playing better than her 17 handicap, so here's hoping she shows that in the premier event for Connecticut female high school students.

"As long as my putter is on - and I want to two-putt every hole - I know I can put up a good score," the always effervescent Sadie said with a wide smile.

Sadie now plays out of Gillette Ridge Golf Club in Bloomfield and recently was one of 10 youngsters to receive scholarships from the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation that included lessons and playing time at Lake of Isles Golf Club in North Stonington. Sadie hopes to have a career in golf and attend the University of Florida because that's where her favorite player, Camilo Villegas, graduated from.

"I don't think he's coming to the Travelers Championship," Sadie said, "but as long as (defending champion) Bubba (Watson) and Rickie (Fowler) come, I'm happy."

TFTCT will host three more charity golf invitationals: the Fairfield County Charity Classic on July 25 at the Round Hill Club in Greenwich, the Connecticut Women's Golf Association-Southern New England Women's Golf Association Women's Classic on Aug. 22 at TPC River Highlands and the New Haven County Charity Classic at Madison Country Club. To enter, contact Cathy Morway at 860-882-1660 or cmorway@thefirstteect.org or visit www.thefirstteect.org.

If anyone doesn't play golf but would like to contribute to TFTCT, there are donation levels named after the nine core values from $50 to $20,000. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by the law, and donors will be recognized on TFTCT website and in the newsletter for that calendar year. For more information, call 860-882-1600 or visit www.thefirstteect.org.

There's few things better or more rewarding than supporting youngsters, so if you like golf, you can double your pleasure playing or becoming a sponsor of one of the remaining three TFTCT fundraisers. You'll feel good about promoting character development and life-enhance values using golf as a training vehicle.

So a 77 isn't all that bad of a day when you finish No. 1 and get a check for $15,400.

Natalie Sheary recovered from a bad middle part of her second pro round to shoot 1 under par the final seven holes for a 2-over-par 74 in the storm-delayed second round of the LPGA Futures Tour's Ladies Titan Tire Challenge on Saturday.

Sheary bogeyed the ninth, 10^th and 12^th holes but birdied the 15^th and 18^th to offset a bogey at No. 17 to finish 36 holes at 3-over 147 and in an 11-way tie for 14^th at Hunters  Ridge Golf Club in Marion, Iowa.

Sheary, the West Hartford resident tied for seventh after the 18 holes, is nine strokes behind Kathleen Ekey of Sharon Township, Ohio, who retained her lead by making 17 pars and a birdie on her final hole, the ninth, for 71-138. Ekey, a University of Alabama grad, hasn't made a bogey in two rounds.

The second steady round extended Ekey's lead from three shots to five over Carling Coffing (69), Leanne Bowditch (70) and Jane Rah (68).

Sheary is making her first start since she tied for eighth in the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship, her best finish in four years at Wake Forest, where she became an honorable mention All-American for the third time as a senior. She spent last week with teacher David Pianki working on all facets of her game, especially hitting fades.

Sheary skipped defending in the Connecticut Women's Open at the Golf Club at Oxford Greens in Oxford on Tuesday and Wednesday. Former LPGA and Futures Tour player Jordan Anne Lintz notched her biggest win with a par on the second playoff hole to beat four-time champion Elizabeth Caron, a.k.a. Liz Janangelo, who also played on the two major women's tours and is now a teaching pro.

Sheary bypassed her title defense because her goal is to earn her 2012 LPGA Tour card by finishing in the Top 10 on the Futures Tour money list this year after being medalist in the qualifying school in the fall. She missed the first four Futures Tour events but plans to play in the final 12, including the ING New England Classic on July 15-17 at Wintonbury Hills Golf Club in Bloomfield.

The final round is Sunday, when Sheary will cash her first check. She finished second to current LPGA player Vicki Hurst in the 2008 CIGNA Futures Golf Classic at Gillette Ridge Golf Club in Bloomfield but was an amateur and couldn't accept any money.

The First Tee of Connecticut will again be the beneficiary of the Final Final Open at Glastonbury Hills Country Club on June 13.

The tournament, played in memory of Thomas Altmann, has a noon shotgun start and a buffet dinner at 5 p.m. Entry fee is $250 per person, $900 for a foursome and $75 for dinner only. Entry deadline for foursomes is Monday.

Sponsorships range from $250 to $2,000, and all participants are encouraged to bring old and used golf gear for donation to the First Tee of Connecticut, which has received $84,000 from the first five years of the tournament.

To enter, make checks payable to The First Tee of Connecticut and mail all correspondence to: DISH Bar and Grill, 900 Main Street, Hartford, Conn. 06103. For more information, contact Bill Carbone at 860-543-5830, Dan Keller at 860-543-5831 or Dr. Paul Bocciarelli at 860-916-4463.

Supporting the First Tee of Connecticut is always a good idea for a multitude of reasons, most of them having more to do with life lessons than golf.

Natalie Sheary had a quite acceptable and "anything but boring" pro debut Friday in the LPGA Futures Tour's Ladies Titan Tire Challenge.

Sheary, a recent Wake Forest grad from West Hartford, carded one birdie, two bogeys and 15 pars for a 1-over-par 73 and a six-way tie for seventh after the first round of the 54-hole event at Hunters Ridge Golf Club in Marion, Iowa.

"It was really windy, a four-club wind gusting 20-30 miles an hour, so I had to work for everything," Sheary said via cell phone after hitting only nine of 18 greens in regulation but saving par seven times. "On the par-3 fourth hole, which is 170 yards, I hit a 5 iron in the practice rounds but blew an 8-iron over the green today and made my first bogey.

"On the front nine I was burning the edges of the hole and had tap-in pars, but on the back nine it was really blowing so I had to work really hard. It was anything but boring, the round took 51/2 hours, and tomorrow it's supposed to rain in the morning and then blow again in the afternoon so we'll have to see how that is."

Starting on the 10^th hole, Sheary opened with 12 pars before the bogey at No. 4. She made her only birdie at the par-5 sixth, two-putting from 40 feet after being unable to reach the green on the 540-yard hole in two shots in practice. But a drive into a fairway bunker at No. 7 led to a bogey 5 before two closing pars left Sheary six strokes behind leader Kathleen Ekey of Sharon Township, Ohio.

Ekey, a University of Alabama grad with two top-10 finishes in four starts this year, shot a bogey-free 67 for a three-stroke lead over Futures Tour rookie Paz Echeverria of Santiago, Chile, who had an eagle 3 at No. 7 and two birdies. Echeverria, a five-time Chilean National Player of the Year, tied for 11^th and earned $16,140 in last week's HSBC LPGA Brazil Cup in Buenos Aires, Brazil, while playing on a sponsors' exemption.

Mo Martin of Altadena, Calif., was the only other player to break par, shooting 71. Lisa Ferrero of Lodi, Calif., started on No. 10, shot a 32 on the back nine and was still 4 under with four holes left before finishing double bogey-par-bogey-bogey for 72 and a tie for fourth with Jean Chua of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Sofie Andersson of Angelholm, Sweden.

Sheary made her first start since May 21, when she tied for eighth in the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship, her best finish in four years at Wake Forest, where she was named an honorable mention All-American for the third time as a senior. She spent last week with teacher David Pianki working on all facets of her game, especially hitting fades.

"I feel like I'm hitting the ball a lot straighter," Sheary said.

Sheary and father/caddie Michael drove 18 hours from Connecticut to Iowa on Sunday and Monday, and Sheary played practice rounds Tuesday and Wednesday but couldn't get on the course Thursday because of two pro-ams. Instead, she practiced and then helped conduct a three-hour VIP clinic as part of the Futures Tour's marketing group.

The long drive to her first visit to Iowa and practice rounds forced Sheary to skip defending in the Connecticut Women's Open at the Golf Club at Oxford Greens in Oxford on Tuesday and Wednesday. Former LPGA and Futures Tour player Jordan Anne Lintz notched her biggest win with a par on the second playoff hole to beat four-time champion Elizabeth Caron, a.k.a. Liz Janangelo, who also played on the two major women's tours and is now a teaching pro.

Sheary bypassed her title defense because her goal is to earn a 2012 LPGA Tour card by finishing in the Top 10 on the Futures Tour money list this year. She missed the first four Futures Tour events but plans to play in the final 12, including the ING New England Classic on July 15-17 at Wintonbury Hills Golf Club in Bloomfield.

Despite not making her pro debut until Friday, Sheary apparently already had some notoriety -- or a lot of friends who like to vote in polls. On the Futures Tour website, Sheary, five other players and "other" were the selections in a poll asking who would win the tournament. "Other" led with 41 percent, but Sheary was the leading individual player at 15 percent.

"That's pretty cool," Sheary said. "I didn't know about that, so I'll have to take a look."

A victory on Sunday would really make Sheary a known quantity.

Rory McIroy has loads of fans, young and old, throughout the world despite being only 22 years old.

The ranks of those supporting the gregarious Northern Ireland native increased after the way he handled a final-round 80 that cost him the Masters in April.

McIroy gave all his followers plenty to cheer about Thursday with a 6-under-par 66 that tied Chris Riley for the first-round lead in the Memorial Tournament in Dublin, Ohio. It was the low round of the afternoon and improved his first-round average in five stroke events in the United States this year to 69.4.

Mclroy, who tied for 10th in his only other appearance in the Memorial in 2010, has led or shared the first-round lead in two previous PGA Tour events, the 2010 British Open, where he tied for third, and the 2011 Masters, where the closing 80 dropped him into a tie for 15th.

McIroy will likely improve on the latter, but more importantly, is what he will be doing after he leaves Ohio. McIroy will be headed to Haiti on a tour with UNICEF for a few days of charity work before heading to Congressional Country Club in Bethesda, Md., to prepare for the U.S. Open. McIroy joined UNICEF as an ambassador in 2011.

"You want to associate yourself with a charity that you feel close to," McIroy said in his post-round chat with the media Thursday. "UNICEF works with mainly children charities, and I feel like I'm the sort of age that I can relate to the younger people. I don't just want to really put my name to it. I wanted to do something, and they were very keen for me to go and see where they're sort of hands on and they're working with."

The McIroy Maniacs are sure to add more members immediately.

Newtown native Joe Lacava had an interesting -- and had to be a bit awkward -- day as caddie for budding PGA Tour star Dustin Johnson on Thursday.

Lacava had one of longest caddie-player relationships in golf history with popular Fred Couples, now one of the stars of the Champions Tour. But Couples is cutting back his schedule more and more because of lingering back problems, not to mention being captain of the U.S. Presidents Cup team that will play the Internationals in Australia this fall. He had a meeting with 30-40 potential Presidents Cup players Thursday night in Dublin, Ohio, where he struggled to a 7-over-par 79 in the first round of the Memorial Tournament partly because of continued hand problems after having cancerous lesions removed.

So with his playing time curtailed, Couples encouraged Lacava to find a different bag, much as Tom Watson did with Wethersfield native Bruce Edwards in the early 1990s. Edwards got Greg Norman, then No. 1 in the world, and Lacava chose Johnson, who nearly won the U.S. Open and PGA Championship last year.

Lacava and Johnson began their new working relationship last week at the HP Byron Nelson Championship. They had worked together at The Players Championship on a trial basis two weeks earlier but made it official after the pro-am round in Irvine, Texas.

So who's one of Johnson's playing partners Thursday? None other than Couples. Johnson birdied the first two holes, struggled through the middle of his round and then holed a bunker shot at No. 14 to start a run of four consecutive birdies for 68 and a tie for fifth, two strokes behind  Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and Chris Riley, who hadn't played in the tournament in nine years.

So was it strange playing with Fred with Joe as your caddie?

"No, not at all," Johnson told Golf Channel. "Freddie is a great guy. There's no bad blood or anything like that. We had talked about things (about Lacava) the other day, so everything was fine. They were together for 21 and are really close friends. It was nice. We had a great time out there."

Johnson said he and LaCava have quickly found a comfort zone with each other.

"He's got it dialed in already," Johnson said. "Especially with good guys, it doesn't take very long to club people."

As usual, Couples was lighthearted about the change.

"Dustin could be on the Presidents Cup team so I can order him around then," Couples said with a chuckle.

Lacava said there were no hard feelings with Couples, another sports nut whom he enjoyed spending time with off the course.

"Fred suggested a change, and Dustin is one of the top young players in the game, just like Fred was when I started with him," Joe said.

Sheary turns pro off a tie for eighth in the NCAA Division I Women's Golf Championship, her best finish in four years at Wake Forest, where she was named an honorable mention All-American for the third time in May. But her main goal is to earn her LPGA card for 2012 by finishing in the Top 10 on the Futures Tour money list. She missed the first four events so she plans to play in the remaining 12, including the ING New England Classic at Wintonbury Hills CC in Bloomfield on July 15-17.

Reigning Travelers Championship winner Bubba Watson, two-time Greater Hartford Open winner Phil Mickelson and University of Hartford grad Jerry Kelly are part of a national partnership announced Wednesday between Birdies for the Brave and Dick's Sporting Goods.

The partnership will be highlighted by in-store fundraising promotion benefitting military groups in the United States.

Watson's father, Gerry, was a member of the Green Berets' Special Forces and taught Bubba how to play golf in Baghdad, Fla. Gerry died on Oct. 14, about four months after his son won his first PGA Tour title in a playoff with Scott Verplank and Corey Pavin at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. Pavin is also supporting the partnership.

Watson lost a playoff to Martin Kaymer in the PGA Championship in August but qualified for the U.S. Ryder Cup team for the first time. He has won twice this year and is No. 1 in the FedEx Cup points standings entering the Jack Nicklaus-hosted Memorial Tournament, which begins Thursday at Muirfield Village Golf Club in Dublin, Ohio. Ironically, Watson is paired in the first two rounds with Memorial defending champion Justin Rose, who led the 2010 Travelers through three rounds before a closing 75 allowed Watson and others into the title chase, and Vermont's Keegan Bradley, who won his first tour title Sunday in a playoff with hometown favorite Ryan Palmer in the HP Byron Nelson Championship.

In another bit of irony, Watson will defend his Travelers title on June 23-26, which is the same weekend as the Dick's Sporting Goods Open on the Champions Tour.

Here's the PGA Tour release on its partnership:

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. - Dick's Sporting Goods, in partnership with the PGA Tour, is conducting a special in-store fundraising campaign now through the Fourth of July to support Birdies for the Brave (www.birdiesforthebrave.org), a national military outreach initiative supported by the tour. Nearly 450 Dick's Sporting Goods retail stores across the U.S. will help honor and support our military by offering customers the opportunity to make a donation of $1, $5 or $10 to Birdies for the Brave at the cash register. At the end of the fundraising campaign, DICK's will match donated funds up to $250,000. 

Funds raised through this special program will benefit nine military homefront groups that are part of Birdies for the Brave, which are supported by PGA Tour players.  They are:

• Green Beret Foundation (www.greenberetfoundation.org) supported by Bubba Watson
• Homes for Our Troops (www.homesforourtroops.org) supported by Phil Mickelson
• Military Warriors Support Foundation (www.militarywarriors.org) supported by Ted Purdy
• Navy SEAL Foundation (www.nswfoundation.org) supported by Jerry Kelly
• Operation Homefront (www.operationhomefront.net) supported by Corey Pavin
• Special Operations Warrior Foundation (www.specialops.org) supported by Mickelson. 
• United Through Reading (www.unitedthroughreading.org) supported by Rory Sabbatini
• Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org) supported by Frank Lickliter II, Jason Gore, Nick Watney and Boo Weekley
• National Guard State Family Readiness Council (www.nationalguardsfrc.org) supported by Jim Colbert

"We are thrilled to work in partnership with DICK's Sporting Goods to raise funds for our American heroes and their families, who sacrifice so much in service to our country," said David Pillsbury, PGA Tour Golf Course Properties President and EVP, Championship Management. 

"Members of our military put their lives on the line every day so that all Americans can enjoy a quality of life and level of freedom unmatched around the world.  This is one way that we can express our gratitude, while supporting military homefront groups that do an extraordinary job of providing critical programs and services to meet the specialized needs of wounded warriors and military families," Pillsbury continued.

Dick's Sporting Goods SVP & Chief Marketing Officer Lauren Hobart echoed those sentiments, saying, "We are delighted to partner with the PGA Tour and Birdies for the Brave on this unique fundraising initiative, which will go a long way toward helping our brave military men and women heal, thrive, and transition to civilian life."

To locate a Dick's Sporting Goods retail store, visit www.dickssportinggoods.com.  For more information on Birdies for the Brave, visit www.birdiesforthebrave.org.

If you have a few spare bucks, you won't find a better cause to support or better people to help.