ClubCorp Announces Sponsorship of PGA Tour Professional Austin Connelly
Posted: August 8, 2016 in Chains
ClubCorp – The World Leader In Private Clubs
DALLAS, TX – ClubCorp — The World Leader in Private Clubs (NYSE: MYCC) — announced a sponsorship with rising star Austin Connelly, playing in his first year as a professional and competing in this weekend’s John Deere Classic on the PGA TOUR. Connelly, just 19 years old, learned the game as a junior golfer at Hackberry Creek Country Club, a member of the ClubCorp family of clubs.
The player sponsorship is a first for ClubCorp, which owns and operates almost 160 golf and country clubs and many business clubs across the country. ClubCorp clubs offers a variety of junior golf programs — clinics, lessons, team and individual tournaments, and activities — designed to make learning the game of golf fun, help juniors achieve success as golfers and instill lessons that go beyond the course.
“We are excited to sponsor Austin as he begins his career as a professional golfer,” said Eric Affeldt, ClubCorp CEO. “As a junior golfer at Hackberry Creek, Austin not only showed his incredible talent but a commitment and respect for the game of golf — values that our clubs strive to teach all young players when they are first learning the sport. We are proud that Austin will represent ClubCorp and those same values as he rises through the ranks of professional golf.”
A dual American-Canadian citizen, Connelly has spent much of the 2016 season playing the Mackenzie Tour-PGA TOUR Canada events where he competed in seven events with two top-10 finishes. This year he also played in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Valspar Championship. Before turning professional in 2016, Connelly was ranked 18th in the World Amateur Golf rankings and won the prestigious Jones Cup Invitational in 2015. As a junior golfer, Connelly was one of 12 players on Team USA at the 2014 Junior Ryder Cup in Scotland which resulted in the fourth consecutive win by the Americans.
“I learned so much through the golf programs offered at Hackberry Creek and playing in the many ClubCorp golf tournaments held in the Dallas area,” said Connelly. “I am proud to represent ClubCorp now that I am playing professionally and thankful for their support as I continue into the next phase of my golf career.”
