Notes from Travelers Pro-Am: Donny Marshall says UConn more dominant than Celtics; Wakefield honored

CROMWELL – Donny Marshall was all smiles after finishing his round in the Travelers Championship Celebrity Pro-Am on Wednesday afternoon. His group, which included pros Adam Scott and Michael Thorbjornsen, finished middle of the pack in the best ball format, 7-under 63.“This was wonderful,” Marshall told The Courant. “For me it was fun because I played in this many years ago, I haven’t played in probably 15 years and I miss it.”During his round, 18 holes in the 90-degree heat at Cromwell’s TPC River Highlands, a day before the course hosts the PGA Tour Signature Event, Marshall grew fascinated with the way golf swings have changed since he last played in the pro-am and was able to watch the professionals, like Scott, up close. The 43-year-old Australian with 14 PGA Tour wins dug into Marshall’s bag to check out his clubs while they played the front nine.“We use the same putter,” Marshall said. “He grabbed one of my irons, gave it to his rep, he was testing it out.“And Michael Thorbjornsen, to see a (22-year-old) kid from Wellesley, from Boston, to see him out here and how he hits the ball and his athleticism, his youth and just his exuberance for the game… Understanding who he is and where he is and what he can accomplish, it’s pretty special, man.”Thorbjornsen had an impressive fourth-place finish in the 2022 Travelers as an amateur and earned his PGA Tour card in May, after finishing his college career at Stanford.Marshall played four years (1991-95) under Jim Calhoun at UConn and has worked in broadcasting for the last 19, calling many UConn basketball games on Fox Sports networks in that time. He previously worked for Comcast Sportsnet in New England, covering more than 600 NBA games, including the Celtics’ 2008 championship season.Watching them win it all again this week, taking out the Dallas Mavericks in five games and hoisting the Larry O’Brien trophy on Monday for the first time since that run, was a moment to appreciate.“I don’t think people understand, outside of New England, how impactful and how special that organization has been really since its inception and to see it continue to win and to be on top, not just in winning a championship this year but having the most championships of any franchise, is pretty special,” Marshall said. “We’ve been talking about it, but to actually see them put a pin in it and get it done, it’s phenomenal.“It doesn’t seem like that long ago, but it was. To see now that gap between (championships) close is pretty special.”Dom Amore: Scottie Scheffler, the world’s best golfer, set to tackle The TravelersWorld No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who grew up in Dallas, also took the course Wednesday.“I did get one fan today who asked me to sign a Celtics hat and I told him no,” Scheffler said.The Celtics went 16-3 in the playoffs and finished their championship season with an 80-21 overall record. In similar fashion, the UConn men finished their season 37-3 and won every NCAA Tournament game by double figures as they secured title No. 6 in April.Which was the more dominant team?“UConn for sure. The Celtics lost one game in the Finals,” Marshall said, earning some laughs. “I don’t care who you asked me (about), it’s always gonna be UConn. Without question.”By the Numbers: Which title team was more dominant, the UConn men or the Boston Celtics?Monahan gives no update on LIV negotiationsPGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan didn’t have much to say on Wednesday about the ongoing and complex negotiations with Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) regarding the unification of professional golf.“I’m not going to negotiate in public,” he said. “…But I will go back to the meeting that we had just two Fridays ago in New York, where our entire Transaction Committee, including Tiger Woods and Adam Scott being in person and Rory (McIlroy) dialing in from the Memorial Tournament, alongside Yasir Al-Rumayyan, the Governor of the PIF and representatives of the PIF… There were a lot of important aspects that we talked about in that meeting, aspects that will be important towards a final agreement that we got consensus on, and there are a number of areas that we recognize that we weren’t going to, but identified them, and that’s what we’re focused on and that’s what we’re working on.”Monahan added: “All I can say is that when you have people the likes of John Henry and Arthur Blank, Sam Kennedy, Andy Cohen, Joe Gorder have massive experience in sport and in the corporate world. When they say that this is one of the more complex scenarios that they have ever seen, I think that says a lot.”Chris Berman, Doug Flutie honor Tim Wakefield, Willie MaysTim Wakefield, the legendary knuckleball pitcher who played 17 years for the Boston Red Sox and died of brain cancer in October, regularly participated in the Travelers celebrity pro-am and was usually grouped with ESPN’s Chris Berman and ex-Boston College and New England Patriots quarterback Doug Flutie.Berman and Flutie held a moment of silence before teeing off at the first hole to honor Wakefield and his wife Stacey, who died shortly after, as well as all-time baseball great Willie Mays, who died at age 93 Tuesday. Flutie sported a Wakefield Red Sox jersey and a hat with his No. 49 on it, and Berman wore a San Francisco Giants hat to represent Mays.Dan Orlovsky correlates Travelers Championship to UConnDan Orlovsky, the former UConn quarterback who played 12 years in the NFL and is now a mainstay in ESPN’s football coverage, said Connecticut’s pride in the Travelers Championship is similar to its love for UConn athletics.“One of the things that I realized was UConn is what this state has, so there’s a ton of pride laterally, both from the school to the state, state to the school,” he said before teeing off in the pro-am, an event he always wants to take part in. “I think Travelers has kind of adopted that same type of thing where it’s the marquee event, certainly sportswise in the state of Connecticut. They do so much for the community and I think Connecticut, in many ways, embraces that as well.”Better golfer: Patrick Renna or The Sandlot’s Ham Porter?Patrick Renna, mostly known for his role as Hamilton “Ham” Porter in the iconic 1993 baseball movie The Sandlot, did his best to lower expectations as he approached the first tee, signing autographs and taking photos along the way.“I’d like everyone to look away when I hit my driver, that’d be great,” he said, cut off by a fan yelling that she loves him. “Aw thank you. Will you still love me if I duff it? Just making sure.”As little confidence he had in himself, Renna said he’d still be a better golfer than his home run-slugging character – “Ham’s got the ultimate baseball swing, I’m trying to straighten out the arm. He doesn’t care, he’ll just grip it and rip it. He’s probably got a longer drive than me though.”…The Travelers Championship donated $10,000 to the Cromwell Police Department to help cover the cost of a new police dog. Cromwell’s K9, Bane, is retiring after nine years of service.

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