Avon Teen Golfer Gets a Chance to Play With the Pros at the Travelers Championship

AVON, CT — When Adelina Cirikovic first started playing golf last year she didn’t know how to swing a golf club.

A lot of hard hard work since then has paid off, and she earned a spot on varsity and junior varsity golf teams as a high school as a freshman. The 15-year-old had a chance last week to swinging her clubs with some of golf’s elite players at the Travelers Championship in Cromwell.

She will be a sophomore at Avon High School in the fall.

The Avon teen was one of 36 young golfers selected to participate in the Eversource PGA Tout Player Experience for Junior Golfers at the TPC River Highlands.

“Playing with the pros at the Travelers was awesome,” Adelina said. “I want to play golf in college and hopefully play professionally someday. So I think the tips I learned from the elite players will definitely give me an advantage and help my game.”

Adelina was selected for the Player Experience based on her personal essay about her golf experience and how she could benefit from the opportunity to participate.

In addition to playing with some of the pros, Adelina and the other chosen participants attended private golf clinics, a Q-and-A session with the elite players and a dinner reception.

“These young golfers weren’t only out enjoying a great sport, they were learning and developing life-long skills through the game of golf from some of the pros,” said Rod Powell, president of corporate citizenship at Eversource. “It’s our job at Eversource to deliver reliable power and superior customer service, but at the same time, we’re also committed to supporting our neighbors and the health and well-being of the young people in our communities. The Player Experience does just that and we’re proud to sponsor such a unique event.”

The partnership between Eversource, the Travelers Championship, The First Tee of Connecticut and the Connecticut Section PGA Junior Golf Association focuses on bringing the game to young people, improving player development, increasing accessibility to the game, and retaining golfers for the future of the sport.

The Travelers Championship has generated more than $33 million for charity since 1952 and donates 100 percent of net proceeds to those organizations. Last year alone, the Travelers Championship generated more than $1.5 million for more than 140 charities throughout the region.