When we began planning our trip to New England, Kevin did some research of sporting events in the area, like Red Sox games, etc, only to discover that nobody what in town for that week. Then he researched nearby golf tournaments, and realized the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands would be happening over that weekend.  He used to watch it as a kid, back when it was called the Greater Hartford Open, and the fact that he could be on the course he grew up watching (it is a private course, so it is the only way he could go there) and to see amazing players in action.

And so on Sunday, after attending sacrament meeting with Becky at her ward in Massachusetts, Kevin, Arthur and I headed down to go watch some of the final round of the Travelers Championship PGA tournament. (Kevin had gotten free tickets for us through Vettix, which was awesome.)  We got there just in time to see the leaders tee off of the first hole – Tommy Fleetwood and Keegan Bradley.

The golf was amazing, the venue was fabulous, and we had a wonderful time in spite of the crazy hot and humid weather (98° plus crazy humidity). Arthur’s favorite part, other than seeing real amazing PGA pros playing in person, was the fact that they had set up a mini golf course in the middle of the golf course. I even beat Kevin 🙌.

After our minigolf break, we walked around the different holes to check out the players.

We found Rory McIlroy, which was very cool – even if he didn’t make his put 😉.

It is always fun to see golfers you have been watching on TV, like Robert MacIntyre.

Or Xander Schauffele.  Arthur kept trying to get them to high five him, but no luck.  And he just barely missed having Xander’s caddie give him a ball, but a much younger little joined the ropes just in time to be the youngest and cutest 😂.

We took a break at the food trucks to eat, and had the yummiest grilled cheese sandwiches.  I also bought an ice-cream sandwich to share with Arthur, but somebody thought it was a good idea to dizzles hot fudge on something you eat with your hands.  What a mess!  It was delicious though, and we ate it on the special cooling bench.  It was so hot!!  Thank goodness for the shade from the many trees on the course and the cooling benches.

Eventually we make our way to the the ninth fairway, where we were very grateful for the fabulous “Patriot Outpost” for active duty military and veterans and their families. They had shade, free snacks, and free water and other drinks. And it was all on the ninth fairway where you could even see them teeing off. Perfect!  Originally, Kevin was going going to wander a bit more while Arthur and I hung out, but he was exhausted too.

We didn’t stay for the end to see Keegan Bradley win it, because we were having dinner with Becky, Dave, and their son Matthew and his family, and so we hit the road. We left early, but were almost late because of a traffic jam where a giant tree had fallen through the fence and was blocking three lanes of traffic 😳.  Reminds me of something that would happen in Pennsylvania. 

Dinner was delicious, as usual when Becky is cooking, but the company was fabulous.  I loved getting to meet Matthew and Allison after hearing about them for ages, and they were delightful.  Arthur made a new friend in Becky‘s grandson, Westley, whom he taught how to play hide and seek 😊.  They had so much fun together. Definitely a perfect end to a wonderful day!