(RALEIGH, N.C.) — Only five PGA Tour events have celebrated a 75th anniversary, but this week that number grows to six. The Wyndham Championship — played at Greensboro’s Sedgefield Country Club’s Ross Course, which is owned by Raleigh-based McConnell Golf — was founded in 1938 and is the sixth-oldest event on the PGA Tour excluding the major championships.
It’s been called the Greater Greensboro Open, the K-Mart Greater Greensboro Open, the Greater Greensboro Chrysler Classic, the Chrysler Classic of Greensboro and, since 2006, the Wyndham Championship.
The Wyndham enjoys a proud 75-year history that includes inviting Charlie Swifford to be the first African-American in the Old South to play in a PGA Tour event, to being the only regular season PGA tournament contested on a course originally designed by Donald Ross.
“(Sedgefield) is awesome,” said 2009 Open Champion Stewart Cink. “The greens are some of the best we have putted on all year and the layout is terrific.”
“One of the best facilities we visit on tour,” echoed Mickey Bradley, Senior Tour Official for the Wyndham Championship. “From the beautiful Tudor clubhouse to the wonderfully conditioned golf course. The players love this place.”
For McConnell and his company, the Wyndham is much more than simply a golf tournament.
“The Wyndham Championship is an important event for McConnell Golf as it allows our combined staff from all clubs to showcase their talents in helping to host such a large event,” said McConnell Golf founder and CEO John McConnell. “It gives us an excellent venue for our employees to develop teamwork, gain new skills, and develop confidence that they can use at their own clubs.
“Having a PGA event at one of our courses certainly provides improved brand awareness for our company and club operations. It is indeed a fun week for all of us at McConnell Golf and we are constantly striving to enhance each year’s experience for our members and fans.”
McConnell Golf was founded in 2003 with the acquisition of Raleigh Country Club and today McConnell Golf owns and operates seven premier private clubs in North and South Carolina including Sedgefield Country Club Ross Course and Dye Course in Greensboro, N.C., TPC at Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh, N.C., Old North State Club in New London, N.C., Treyburn Country Club in Durham, N.C., The Reserve Golf Club in Pawleys Island, S.C., and Musgrove Mill Golf Club in Clinton S.C. Most importantly, every one of the McConnell Golf facilities is top ranked in their states.
The 2014 Wyndham Championship continues the busy year of tournament hosting for the company. A total of 15 golf championships are being contested at McConnell Golf venues across the Carolinas this year ranging from professional tournaments, collegiate championships and elite junior competitions:
• PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield CC Ross Course (2013 winner: Patrick Reed)
• ACC Women’s Tournament at Sedgefield CC Ross Course (2014 winner: Duke)
• ACC Men’s Tournament at Old North State Club (2014 winner: Georgia Tech)
• Web.com Tour’s Rex Hospital Open at TPC Wakefield Plantation (2014 winner: Byron Smith)
• eGolf Tour’s Sedgefield Classic at Sedgefield CC Dye Course (2014 winner: Ted Brown)
• Cardinal Amateur at Sedgefield CC Dye Course (2014 winner: Sedgefield’s Scott Harvey)
• Carolinas Mid-Amateur at The Reserve (2014 winner: Matthew Crenshaw)
• Carolinas Club Pro-Am Championship at Sedgefield CC Ross Course (2014 winner: TPC Wakefield Plantation’s Paul Dickens and Kevin Duerr)
• AJGA FootJoy Invitational at Sedgefield CC Ross Course (2014 winner: Austin Connelly)
• Rex Hospital Open Junior Invitational at TPC Wakefield Plantation (2014 winners: Alex Smalley/Grant Houser)
• Carolinas Pro-Junior Championship at Treyburn CC (2014 winner: Clarence Rose/Nicholas Adams)
• North Carolina High School Invitational at Treyburn CC (2014 winner: Pinecrest HS)
• South Carolina Amateur Championship at The Reserve (2014 winner: Andrew Novak)
• Carolinas Senior Amateur Championship at Sedgefield CC Dye Course (September 24-26)
• South Carolina Mid-Amateur Championship at Musgrove Mill (October 3-5)
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