At a tournament marked by memorable performances year-after-year, Harris English and Kramer Hickok delivered one of the best yet at 2021 Travelers Championship
Jordan Spieth’s tournament-winning bunker shot at the 2017 Travelers Championship is the golf equivalent of a walk-off home run — a pandemonium-inducing play. Kevin Streelman’s seven consecutive birdies in 2014, or Jim Furyk’s PGA Tour-record 58 in 2016, were akin to a 3-point specialist in basketball getting hot down the stretch of a game — bucket after bucket, birdie after birdie — willing themselves to victory.
Sunday’s final round of the Travelers Championship will join Spieth, Streelman and Furyk on the short list of most memorable moments in the 70-year history of the tournament.
Only this was no bottom-of-the-ninth game-winner, nor was it a fiery burst of scoring that catches the eye of intrigued spectators.
This was a heavyweight boxing match: two men, one-on-one, round after round.
It was the Cal Ripken Jr. of finishes, Travelers executive vice president Andy Bessette said Monday. Ripken Jr. — nicknamed the Iron Man — played in a MLB record 2,623 consecutive games for the Baltimore Orioles. Like the Iron Man, Harris English and Kramer Hickok refused to leave the playing field Sunday, as the two golfers fought out an 8-hole playoff — the second-longest in tour history — which ended with English sinking a birdie putt on the 18th hole to win, shortly after 8 p.m.
“They’re all so different,” Bessette said of the great moments in the tournament’s history. “I categorized them — we’ve had all kinds of different wins, but this was the most unique win we’ve ever had.”
It followed an equally unique 2020 tournament in which Dustin Johnson won in front of a handful of onlookers. Bessette and tournament director Nathan Grube high-fived and celebrated that finish alone on 18.
They celebrated again Sunday, this time surrounded by thousands of fans who hung around for the two-hour playoff. The tournament allowed 10,000 fans per day, a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of thousand who’d walk the course in years past. But Bessette marveled as the few thousand sounded more like 40,000. The loyal Connecticut golf fans even began to cheer for the volunteer holding the on-course score sign, dubbing him “sign guy.” They sprinted back and forth between the two playoff holes — 17 and 18 — and did the wave on the latter, a signal that like the two men left playing, they weren’t ready to give in, either.
“I missed the fans so much last year,” Bessette said. “Nobody cheered for their putts dropping, or a good chip. It was just dead. Having fans back this year was the best. I always say, our fans are the most golf savvy fans that exist. Even in the playoff, when they were calling out things, they all knew that Kramer was a roommate of Jordan Spieth’s at Texas. And they were calling out, ‘Hey, chip in like your roommate from Texas.’ That’s pretty cool, I think. Like, wow, our fans know their stuff.”
Hickok, a 29-year-old still in search of his first win on tour, started the final round co-leading with three-time champion Bubba Watson. He stepped up to the first tee around 1:55 on Sunday to muted applause. Watson, who imploded on the back nine and knocked himself out of contention with five consecutive bogeys, drew the attention.
But by nightfall, Hickok had won the crowd. He sank a birdie putt on the 18th hole as fans chanted his name, and had a large percentage of the crowd pulling for him in the playoff as he parred all eight holes.
Second place is the highest finish in Hickok’s tour career, and it propelled him into the top 70 of the FedEx Cup standings. It helped keep his professional golf career alive, too.
“You never know, right?” Grube said. “You can’t control who plays well, but everyone has a story. I actually caught a part of the broadcast this morning, and it was going back and forth from Kramer’s family. He’d make a putt, and they’d be elated. And you’re looking at that like, this is a life-changing moment for this guy. And I think that was so cool — people started to feel like they were a part of it. Like, oh my god, his life was unfolding right in front of our eyes. It’s like reality television.
“You know Harris’ story, and you learned about Kramer. And the fans are invested.”
English, making his eighth start in Cromwell, finally broke through for a win, shooting a steady 67-68-67-65. He finished third at the U.S. Open a week prior at Torrey Pines in San Diego, and won the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January.
Bessette called English a friend of the tournament, and seeing longtime acquaintances like the 31-year-old Georgian hoist a trophy in Connecticut is as special as seeing a superstar like Dustin Johnson or Phil Mickelson do so.
“We see Harris out there, he’s a proven veteran,” Bessette said. “We have the Jordan Spieth’s — the big names. And we’ve had some others who are less known, like Chez Reavie (2019). I think Harris fits into a different category of a well-established pro. This was his fourth victory on tour. He’s the real deal, and I think he’s a great champion. We’re proud to have him as our champion.”
And even with reduced fans, the tournament still donated around $2 million to charity — close to the $2.1 million mark it hit in 2019, and up from $1.6 million last year.
“Sponsors found ways to support and got behind us,” Grube said, also singling out the tournament’s Birdies for Charity program. “A couple of weeks ago, we were pacing to hit $2 million, and we crossed it. Kudos to this community. They love supporting charities. They know what we’re about, and it’s cool to see the end result.”
Shawn McFarland can be reached at smcfarland@courant.com.
