Travelers Championship memorable moments: From a hurricane in 1952 to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the PGA stop has a rich, colorful history

The PGA Tour is making its stop in the Hartford area for the 70th time. A tournament that has had half a dozen different names has often attracted the biggest names in golf, including some of the game’s certified legends.

Arnold Palmer won here twice, Billy Casper four times, Sam Snead, Gene Littler, Tommy Bolt, Julius Boros, Lee Trevino to name a few others. Charlie Sifford, the first African American to earn a PGA Tour card, made history here in 1967. Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson are among the world-famous stars who have won in recent years at the TPC River Highlands, which became the host in 1984.

The tournament has gone to a playoff 23 times. There have been remarkable rounds, most notably Jim Furyk’s tour record 58 in 2016, and dramatic shots, like Paul Azinger’s winner in 1989. It’s a colorful, and rich history. It has had its share of wild weather concerns, the tail end of a hurricane threatening the first Insurance City Open and lots of thunder and lightning, but the tournament, especially since the Travelers took over in 2006, has become one of the most popular events with players and fans alike. The show went on despite the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, one of the first mileposts as the state began to emerge from quarantine and return to normal.

As the 2021 Travelers Championship approaches, here’s a look at 10 of its most memorable moments:

Sept. 1, 1952

Ted Kroll, a decorated veteran of World War II, pressed on through a storm to win the first tournament — then called the Insurance City Open at Wethersfield CC — with his wife expecting their first child. The remnants of Hurricane Baker were passing through with trees fallen and greens under water. At one point, Kroll and his playing partners took cover in the garage of Jack Grant, a Wethersfield member who lived near the 16th green. Though many golfers thought the final round should have been postponed, Kroll parred the last four holes to finish with a 67 and won the $2,400 first prize by four strokes. “I guess I’m a good mudder,” Kroll said in the clubhouse afterward.

July 1, 1956

Kroll and a 25-year-old Palmer finished the 72 holes in a tie, both at 274. Palmer borrowed a putter from Kroll, who had missed a 10-footer on the second playoff hole. Palmer birdied the par-5 hole to take the $4,000 first prize and win his first tournament in the United States. As they posed for pictures, Palmer was surprised his wife, Winnie, didn’t give him a victory kiss. “I didn’t want to have you covered with lipstick,” she told him. Palmer was more famous when he returned to win the tournament in 1960, again in a playoff.

Aug. 20, 1967

Sifford had been playing professionally since 1948, and in 1961, became the first African American to earn a PGA Tour card. Although Pete Brown was the first to win a PGA-sanctioned tournament in 1964, Sifford, who had barely missed joining Kroll and Palmer in the 1956 playoff, won the Greater Harford Open, as it was then called, in 1967. In the final round, Sifford went through five cigars, shot 31 on the back nine and made a terrific shot out of a trap on the 18th hole, and finished with a four-foot putt to beat Steve Opperman by a stroke to take home $20,000.

Sifford, who won the National Negro Open six times in the 1950s and faced down racial slurs in his early PGA appearances, had never earned more than $1,500 before. His victory helped break down barriers for future golfers. “It’s not an exaggeration to say that without Charlie and the other pioneers who fought to play, I may not be playing golf,” Tiger Woods said when Sifford died in 2015.

Sept. 4, 1972

Trevino and Lee Elder battled in a playoff for the $25,000 first prize. Many of the big names took Labor Day weekend off, but Trevino, one of the most popular and charismatic players of his time, came to Wethersfield and eagled the ninth hole in the final round to vault up among the leaders. He ended up shooting final-round 65. Elder was trying to become the first African American to qualify for the Masters, but he missed a potential winning putt on the 18th, and Trevino won on the first playoff hole. “I really felt bad for Lee [Elder], he’s such a great guy,” Trevino told The Courant’s Owen Canfield afterward. “But I wouldn’t let my wife beat me if I could help it.”

Sept. 3, 1973

The tournament was then called the Sammy Davis Jr. Greater Hartford Open, an association that helped bring global celebrities to Connecticut. Casper, the winner in 1963, 65 and 68, won for the fourth time, shooting 20-under for the tournament. Weather was a factor, with a violent thunderstorm delaying the final round a day, but Casper, 42, birded two of the last three holes to finish a stroke better than Bruce Devlin. He was surprised he shot a tournament record. “Really?” Casper said later. “Well, that has to be attributed to the condition of the course. Being able to select preferred lies every time in the fairways had a lot to do with it, and the greens were absolutely ideal all week.” Casper took home $40,000. Watson, with three Travelers wins, will try to tie Casper in 2021.

July 10, 1989

For one shot, one moment, it would be hard to beat Azinger’s winning shot, a 45-foot chip shot from the rough for birdie on the 18th hole. Azinger had lost a four-stroke lead on the final day but still shot a 65 to win the Canon Greater Hartford Open, as it was then called. “It wasn’t a difficult shot to get close, but it was a miracle it went in,” he said that day. Azinger, who had won the tournament in 1987, beat Wayne Levi by a stroke to win the $180,000 first-prize money.

June 23, 2002

Mickelson defended his 2002 title with a spectacular weekend of golf, shooting 66 on Saturday and 64 on Sunday, to come from five strokes back to top a star-studded field. More than 300,000 fans came out to watch the tournament, which has since become the norm in Cromwell. Lefty’s birdie on 18 was good enough to beat Davis Love III and Jonathan Kaye by a stroke. Despite the crowds, Canon ended its sponsorship and the tournament was in serious danger before Buick stepped in. Mickelson, the recent PGA winner, will be back in Cromwell this week.

June 28, 2010

The Travelers took over in 2006 and was making the tournament the most popular stop for players. The first prize was up over $1 million as Watson won the first of his three titles in a playoff with Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank. Justin Rose began the day with a three-stroke lead, six over Watson and Pavin, but shot a 75. Watson’s 66 was good enough for his first win on the PGA Tour and began his special relationship with this tournament.

June 25, 2017

Jordan Spieth, who had uncharacteristically struggled with his putting throughout the final round, make a miracle shot from the bunker to beat Daniel Berger in yet another playoff. Spieth’s approach shot found the right bunker, but he blasted out to win his 10th PGA Tour event before turning 24. “I mean the ground was shaking,” Spieth said of the roar that went up around him. “I jumped up and saw it [ball] coming right down on the pin. And I went nuts. That was fun.”

June 28, 2020

There were many who doubted the Travelers could be pulled off in the COVID-19 pandemic. With a rash of early positive COVID tests, there were times it seemed unlikely it would finish. But finish it did, without fans, but with a TV audience happy to have something to watch. Johnson emerged from a field filled with the top players in the world to beat Kevin Streelman by one stroke. At one point, Johnson was 17-under during a 42-hole stretch but the finish was close. He had to take off his shoes to play his second shot from the bank of the late on 15 but managed to save par and take home the $1.33 million prize.

Dom Amore can be reached at damore@courant.com

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