For most of the year, UConn teams dominate the sports headlines throughout Connecticut. But that changes in mid-June, when the PGA Tour comes to town for the Travelers Championship, played at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.
The roots of the tournament date back to 1952. Then known as the Insurance City Open, the 1956 title went to a young golfer named Arnold Palmer. Today, as a Signature Event on the PGA Tour, it attracts the best players in the world, with an annual prize pool of $20 million — and as one of the top attended golf events in the country, raises millions of dollars each year for Connecticut charities. So you might be surprised to hear that it almost disappeared in the early 2000s due to a lack of corporate sponsorship.
Travelers stepped up to save the day, led by executive vice president and chief administrative officer Andy Bessette ’75 (CLAS). Since the beginning of the company’s title sponsorship, he has partnered with tournament director Nathan Grube to deliver one of the best stops on the tour. A member of the UConn Board of Trustees, Bessette was a four-time All-American hammer thrower for UConn track and field. A record-setting win in the 1980 Olympic track and field trials earned him a spot on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team, and later that summer, he received the Congressional Gold Medal for his patriotism in supporting the boycott of the Moscow Olympic Games.
“As a world-class athlete, you learn quickly that if you accept the status quo, if you accept where you are skill-wise and competitively, then you are going to go backwards,” Bessette told us on the eve of last year’s Travelers Championship from the clubhouse at TPC River Highlands. “You never ever stop trying to get better. That is what our rallying cry about the tournament has been for the past 20 years. We have a show for one week, but we work all year to plan to get everything right. And part of the week is taking a look around and making a list of things we can improve on for next year’s tournament.”
