Tournament Time for McConnell Golf

Several high-profile events on Donald Ross-designed classic courses help highlight an impressive roster of competitions being contested at McConnell Golf clubs in 2018

(RALEIGH, NC) — The USGA’s recent announcement that venerable Holston Hills Country Club in Knoxville, Tenn., would serve as a local qualifying site for this summer’s 118th U.S. Open Championship further strengthened an already impressive season of golf tournaments being contested at McConnell Golf clubs in 2018.

Holston Hills will play host to a U.S. Open qualifier on May 9. Located in East Knoxville near the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains on 180 open acres of rolling old farmland tucked into a bend in the Holston River, Holston Hills features a 1927 Donald Ross-designed golf course that immediately was recognized as the finest course in the state when it opened and began hosting every important regional tournament, including a PGA Tour event. In 2018, Holston Hills is also hosting the 50th Tennessee Section PGA Professional Championship — one of the biggest events of the year for PGA Professionals, with top qualifiers earning a spot in the PGA Championship — June 25-27.

Raleigh-based McConnell Golf purchased Holston Hills in December 2015 and — with a nod to the past and an eye on the future — immediately invested $1.4 million in capital improvements. “I knew when I saw Holston Hills that it would be a great addition to our golf portfolio,” said McConnell Golf Founder and CEO John McConnell, who called Holston Hills a “must-play” for McConnell Golf members.

Ironically, McConnell said the first time he visited Holston Hills, the club reminded him of Shinnecock Hills, the storied eastern Long Island golf club that will host its fifth U.S. Open Championship in June.

McConnell Golf’s member-first, high-quality approach includes a wide variety of locations throughout the Carolinas from the mountains to the coast and now into Tennessee, as well as an honor roll of golf course architects — legendary names including Ross, Arnold Palmer, Pete Dye, Tom Fazio, Greg Norman and Hale Irwin.

Nearly untouched through the years, Holston Hills is the fourth McConnell Golf course designed by Ross.

The most well known of McConnell Golf’s quartet of Ross-designed courses is Sedgefield Country Club’s Ross Course in Greensboro, N.C., which annually plays host to the PGA Tour’s Wyndham Championship. Founded in 1938 making it the sixth-oldest event on the PGA Tour excluding the major championships, the Wyndham Championship will be contested August 16-19.

The Sedgefield-Ross course will also play host to the 41st CGA Carolinas Club Championship on April 9 followed by the Women’s ACC Golf Championship, which returns to Sedgefield after one year at McConnell Golf’s The Reserve in Litchfield, S.C. Another highly regarded McConnell Golf property, Old North State Club, will play host again in 2018 to the Men’s ACC Golf Championship, after one year at McConnell Golf’s Musgrove Mill in Clinton, S.C.

Both the men’s and women’s ACC Championships will be contested April 19-22.

Sedgefield’s Ross Course also annually hosts the AJGA Haas Family Invitational, which will be played June 11-15.

Not to be outdone, Sedgefield’s sister course, designed by the great Pete Dye, will also play host to some prestigious events in 2018 including the prestigious Cardinal Amateur July 27-29, as well as a pair of GPro Tour events, the first May 30 through June 1 and the second August 28-30.

The GPro Tour was established in February 2013 as a regional platform for aspiring professional golfers. Since its inception GPro Tour has paid out nearly $2 million in prize money. McConnell Golf will play host to another GPro Tour event August 1-2 at Brook Valley Country Club in Greenville, N.C.

Another significant pro event, the Web.Com Tour’s REX Hospital Open will be played at McConnell Golf’s TPC Wakefield Plantation in Raleigh May 31- June 3.

McConnell Golf’s Treyburn Country Club in Durham, N.C., a jaw-dropping Tom Fazio design, itself will play host to a half-dozen events in 2018. The 11th Annual McConnell Golf North Carolina High School Invitational will be contested on April 9. Other events at Treyburn include the 38th CGA Carolinas Mid-Am Championship April 13-15, the AJGA Amino Vital Junior Championship July 9-13, the Carolinas PGA Durham Senior Open September 17-18 and the CGA Senior Fourball on November 5.

McConnell Golf 2018 Tournament Schedule
April 2-4 ECU Men’s Intercollegiate (Brook Valley)
April 9 11th Annual McConnell Golf North Carolina High School Invitational (Treyburn)
April 9 41st CGA Carolinas Club Championship (Sedgefield-Ross)
April 13-15 38th CGA Carolinas Mid-Am Championship (Treyburn)
April 19-22 Women’s ACC Golf Championship (Sedgefield-Ross)
April 19-22 Men’s ACC Golf Championship (Old North State Club)
May 9 U.S. Open qualifier (Holston Hills)
May 30-June 1 GPro Tour (Sedgefield-Dye)
May 31-June 3 Web.Com Tour REX Hospital Open (Wakefield)
June 4 CGA Senior Fourball (CC of Asheville)
June 11-15 AJGA Haas Family Invitational (Sedgefield-Ross)
June 25-27 Tennessee PGA Section Championship (Holston Hills)
July 9 CGA Fourball (CC of Asheville)
July 9-13 AJGA Amino Vital Junior Championship (Treyburn)
July 27-29 Cardinal Amateur (Sedgefield-Dye)
August 1-2 GPro Tour (Brook Valley)
August 16-19 PGA Tour Wyndham Championship (Sedgefield-Ross)
August 27-28 UNC-Asheville Bulldog Classic (CC of Asheville)
August 28-30 GPro Tour (Sedgefield-Dye)
September 17-18 Carolinas PGA Durham Senior Open (Treyburn)
October 1 CGA Ladies Playday (CC of Asheville)
October 22-23 Treyburn Invitational Pro-Am (Treyburn)
October 29-30 Carolinas PGA Senior Fall Finals (Old North State Club)
November 5 CGA Senior Fourball (Treyburn)
November 5-6 Carolinas PGA Mountains Chapter Pro-Pro (CC of Asheville)