Celebrities Mix It Up With Top Pro Golfers In Travelers Pro-Am

CROMWELL, CT — A pair of Stanley Cup champions with deep Connecticut roots were joined at the TPC River Highlands Wednesday by two members of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, a plethora of UConn sports figures and some stars of the entertainment world, both young and well-seasoned, at the annual Travelers Championship Celebrity Pro-Am.

Nick Bonino, a Farmington native who won two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins and currently skates for the Nashville Predators, returned to his home stomping grounds, playing alongside two-time former tournament champion Stewart Cink. Ron Hainsey of Bolton, a teammate of Bonino's on the 2017 Penguins championship team who currently plays for the Toronto Maple Leafs, played with pro Charley Hoffman, ESPN personality Chris Berman and NBA all-time 3-point king Ray Allen, who will be inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in September.

UConn was well-represented in the Pro-Am field, in addition to Allen. Former Husky and NFL quarterback Dan Orlovsky played alongside NFL legend Boomer Esiason and actor/comedian George Lopez, who regaled the crowd with nearly non-stop one-liners. Basketball Hall of Fame coach Jim Calhoun was paired with current UConn football coach Randy Edsall and hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh, while women's basketball associate head coach Chris Dailey and national champion field hockey coach Nancy Stevens played with CBS This Morning co-anchor Norah O'Donnell.

Actors Dane DeHaan (Chronicle, The Amazing Spider-Man 2) and Christopher Jackson (The Lion King, Hamilton) were paired with singer javier Colon, winner of the first season of The Voice.

Many top stars of the PGA TOUR were on hand, including defending champion Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy, who drew the largest galleries of the day. In addition to Spieth and Cink, past champions playing in the Pro-Am included Marc Leishman, Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan, Russell Knox, J.J. Henry and Ken Duke.

Competition rounds for the $7 million Travelers Championship begin off tees 1 and 10 Thursday at 7 a.m. Click here for Thursday starting times.

Photos: 1) George Lopez; 2) Ron Hainsey; 3) Ray Allen and Chris Berman; 4) Nancy Stevens and Chris Dailey; 5) J.J. Henry and Jim Calhoun; 6) Boomer Esiason; 7) former Masters and British Open champion Zach Johnson; 8) Patrick Mahon, chairman of the Johnson Memorial Medical Center board of directors, and Guy Antonacci of GreatHorse Country Club; 9) the pond which borders holes 15, 16 and 17

Photo credits: Tim Jensen

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