By: Paul Morrone
With less than 30 days until the end of summer, at least as measured by the school calendar, it took a quick scroll through my phone’s photo album to remind me of how much we did in a seemingly short amount of time. Summer has ticked by, filled with day trips, cookouts, family parties and plenty of time in the pool. One of the most memorable experiences we have had so far was going to the Traveler’s Championship PGA golf tournament in Hartford.
I have memories of going to that very same tournament with my dad when it used to be called the Greater Hartford Open, followed by the Buick Championship, and was a second-tier PGA event at best. Over time, tournament organizers have worked to bring the Traveler’s to the forefront of professional golf, and it is now deemed one of the very few marquee tournaments on the calendar (and the only one in the Northeast). This means that recent tournaments have drawn the top names in golf, including Scottie Scheffler and Jordan Speith. But what made this year even more special is that I got to bring Kyle, who is turning into an avid golf fan, and watched him experience the event for the first time.
He was a trooper. It was arguably the hottest and most humid day of the year in late June. And a golf course offering little shade was a less-than-ideal location to spend a sunny afternoon in oppressive heat. Armed with plenty of water, he walked the entire back 9 holes of the course without complaint. Watching him take it all in was worth every second in the hot sun. He knew many of the players and, being such a fan-friendly event, he was able to get up close to many of the greens and tee boxes searching for a high five or thumbs up as they walked by.
It wasn’t all golf, however, and we spent some time in the ‘Fan Zone’ playing games (Kyle hit the center mark in Plinko!), entering contests, and filling his goodie bag with any free swag he could get his hands on. After that, we spent some time in the hospitality tent with some cold drinks and all-you-can-eat ice cream – which made both of us happy. It was even better to cool down as we watched several pairings walk up the 18th fairway.
As we were walking out, we saw a group of fans congregating around a golfer wearing an orange hat. Being Sunday, there was only one person that could be. Ricky Fowler has a stellar reputation in the golfing world, especially when it comes to his fan-friendly demeanor and willingness to engage with the tournament patrons. Kyle scurried up to the front of the pack and Ricky made sure to go right up to him in lieu of many of the adults that were clamoring trying to get an autograph. He posed for picture, signed his hat and gave him a pat on the head. Kyle’s been talking about that ever since and the hat is hanging on the wall in his room. Priceless!
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