Fazio Design tackles bunker renovation and more at Bull’s Bridge in Connecticut

New bunkers and tees to be added to one of the top private clubs in Connecticut.

Fazio Design and course superintendent Stephen Hicks have started a bunker renovation to Bull’s Bridge Golf Club in South Kent, Connecticut. The project to one of the top private clubs in the state will include the expansion of several fairways and approach areas and the addition of new tees on select holes.

Bull’s Bridge ties for No. 5 on Golfweek’s Best 2023 list of private clubs in Connecticut, and it also ranks No. 181 on Golfweek’s Best list of all modern courses built since 1960 in the United States. Designed by Tom Fazio, Bull’s Bridge opened in 2004.

New bunkers will be added to eight holes, and other bunkers will be repositioned. With McDonald and Sons as the construction contractor, new back tees will be added to Nos. 2, 9 and 18. Forward tees will be built on Nos. 3, 6, 10 and 17. Grow-in and full completion of the golf course project is expected in November.

Bull's Bridge
No. 16 at Bull’s Bridge in South Kent, Connecticut, during renovation (Courtesy of Bull’s Bridge Golf Club)

A clubhouse expansion plan also has been approved by the local zoning commission, with Furno Architects on board for that job. The existing clubhouse has been redesigned, and a new golf house with locker rooms and a golf shop will be added and connected by a breezeway. The project began in August.

“This is an exciting time at Bull’s Bridge, with these significant upgrades being made to enhance overall member enjoyment of our facilities,” general manager Brian Freeswick said in a media release announcing the plans.

[lawrence-related id=778062306,778362116,778360597]

Check the yardage book: TPC River Highlands for the 2023 Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour

StrackaLine offers hole-by-hole maps for TPC River Highlands and the Travelers Championship.

TPC River Highlands – site of this week’s Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour – features a design by Bobby Weed that opened in 1989 in Cromwell, Connecticut.

The current layout was built on the site of a former course, Middletown Golf Club, that opened in 1928. It then became Edgewood Country Club in 1934. The site was reworked by famed architect Pete Dye in 1982 as TPC of Connecticut before Weed became involved. Weed most recently worked on the course in 2016, remodeling bunkers and updating the strategic demands.

Short by modern Tour standards, the private TPC River Highlands will play to 6,852 yards with a par of 70 this week.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the pros face this week at TPC River Highlands.

Adama Sanogo worked out with the Thunder in pre-draft visit

Connecticut forward Adama Sanogo has worked out for the Thunder in pre-draft visit, per @BasketballGuruD

The 2023 NBA draft lottery is officially over, as it confirmed the Oklahoma City Thunder will pick No. 12 in the first round of the draft.

It’s also draft combine week, which means all of the top prospects are gathered in Chicago, Ill. This means that most players will likely be asked who they’ve worked out and met with so far.

The Thunder have met and worked out Connecticut forward Adama Sanogo, per BSO’s Daniel Bell.

The 21-year-old averaged 17.2 points on 60.6% shooting, 7.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 39 games last season. He also shot 36.5% from 3 on 1.3 attempts. He spent three college seasons at UConn from 2020 to 2023, where he played a vital role in their 2023 national championship.

Sanogo is currently projected by most mock drafts to go in the second round, which means the Thunder will likely get a chance to select him at No. 37 or No. 50 if he falls that far.

The 2023 NBA draft is scheduled to happen on Thursday, June 22. A full list of prospects who’ve met with the Thunder can be read here.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Jordan Hawkins confirms he met with Thunder in pre-draft visit

“I think they have a promising future.”

The 2023 NBA draft lottery is officially over, as it confirmed the Oklahoma City Thunder will pick No. 12 in the first round of the draft.

It’s also draft combine week, which means all of the top prospects are gathered in Chicago, Ill. This means that most players will likely be asked who they’ve worked out and met with so far.

Add Connecticut guard Jordan Hawkins to the list, as he confirmed in his media availability he visited the Thunder in a pre-draft visit, per CBS Sports’ Kyle Boone.

When asked about the Thunder, Hawkins was very complimentary of their young core, pointing out their young backcourt led by an All-NBA First Team player.

“Great team. They got a lot of young talent. Josh Giddey is a great, great basketball player (and) great passer. Shai (Gilgeous-Alexander) is Shai. I think it’ll be a great team and great fit,” Hawkins said. “I think they have a promising future.”

The 21-year-old spent two college seasons at UConn. In 37 games last season, he averaged 16.2 points on 40.9% shooting, 3.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists. From 3, he shot 38.8% on 7.6 attempts.

There’s an outside shot Hawkins is available at No. 12, but in all likelihood, the Thunder would need to trade up a couple of spots to fully secure him if they intend to draft him.

The 2023 NBA draft is scheduled to happen on Thursday, June 22. A full list of prospects who’ve met with the Thunder can be read here.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Tennessee football’s 2023 homecoming game announced

Tennessee football’s 2023 homecoming game and date have been announced.

Tennessee announced its 2023 homecoming game will take place Nov. 4.

The homecoming contest will represent Tennessee’s first meeting against UConn.

The Vols will kick off its third season under head coach Josh Heupel on Sept. 2 against Virginia at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tennessee.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

Tennessee went 11-2 (6-2 SEC) last season with its only losses coming to South Carolina and two-time defending national champion Georgia.

Tennessee ended its 2022 campaign by defeating ACC champion Clemson (11-3, 8-0 ACC), 31-14, in the Capital One Orange Bowl in Miami Gardens, Florida.

[affiliatewidget_smgtolocal]

The Vols concluded spring practices April 15 with their annual Orange & White Game.

Tennessee football: A look at 2023 way-too-early game-by-game predictions

The NCAA’s start time for the men’s national title game is way too late

It’s absurd an important game starts so late.

Not that this isn’t the norm, but if you’re on Eastern Standard Time, you might want to drink some coffee before the men’s national title game tonight.

Connecticut and San Diego State will not officially start until around 9:30 Eastern. That’s right, 30 minutes before 10 o’clock (on the East Coast) on a Monday evening, with work the next day, meaningful basketball will be played. That is just patently absurd.

I’m aware that fans in other time zones are a bit luckier, and this has a heavy hint of East coast bias. But come on now. This is a championship game. It’s a little ridiculous that even one time zone has to deal with this tip-off time.

Never mind that, hello — one invested fanbase, Connecticut — is in the Eastern time zone!

College basketball fans, especially those in the east, aren’t happy.

[pickup_prop id=”32943″]

UConn wins fourth consecutive game versus Tennessee

UConn wins fourth consecutive game versus the Lady Vols.

No. 4 UConn (18-2, 11-0 Big East) defeated Tennessee (16-7, 8-0 SEC), 84-67, Thursday at Thompson-Boling Arena.

The loss ends Tennessee’s nine-game win-streak.

UConn led, 33-17, in the first quarter. The Huskies led, 40-36, at halftime.

UConn outscored the Lady Vols, 28-19, in the third quarter.

Jordan Horston led all scorers with 27 points. She recorded seven rebounds and two assists for Tennessee. Horston did not play in Tennessee’s last game at Missouri Sunday due to illness.

Rickea Jackson recorded 13 points and seven rebounds before fouling out of the game in the fourth quarter for the Lady Vols.

Jillian Hollingshead finished with 11 points and nine rebounds for Tennessee.

Lou Lopez-Senechal led the Huskies with 26 points. Aaliyah Edwards scored 25 points for UConn.

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz9dkec01s6y18 player_id=01eqbvp13nn1gy6hd4 image=]

[vertical-gallery id=78420]

Angler’s mystery catch is a pending-record cobia

A Connecticut angler has landed a pending state-record cobia in Long Island Sound, well north of the species’ typical range.

A Connecticut angler has landed a pending state-record cobia in Long Island Sound, well north of the species’ typical range.

John Bertolasio hooked the 40-pound cobia using a dead eel as bait. During the 90-minute fight, the fish sounded, snapping Bertolasio’s rod.

Connecticut Fish and Wildlife stated Thursday that the record is pending “awaiting weight on a certified scale and affidavit.”

ALSO: Video shows grizzly bear chasing oil-field worker onto cab of truck

Connecticut currently does not list cobia in its record database, but explained that “encounters with southern species, like cobia, are becoming more and more frequent in Long Island Sound due to climate change.”

CFW added that Bertolasio thought the fish was a shark when he looked down and saw the brown fins.

“John did not know what he had caught until he sent the picture of the fish to a friend,” the agency stated. “Once he found out it was legal (and good eating), he kept it.”

According to the International Game Fish Assn., cobia are similar to sharks in appearance. But with broad, depressed heads they more strongly resemble remoras, which often attach to or swim with sharks.

The IGFA lists as the world record a 135-pound, 9-ounce cobia caught off Western Australia in 1985.

Detroit Red Wings select Notre Dame’s Brennan Ali in NHL draft

Here’s a player to watch for the Irish during the upcoming season.

Notre Dame’s streak of having at least one player taken in the NHL draft will live for another year. When the Detroit Red Wings selected incoming freshman center [autotag]Brennan Ali[/autotag] with the 212th overall pick in the seventh round, it marked the latest in an Irish tradition that goes back to 2004 and 23 of the past 24 drafts. There now have been 92 draftees from Notre Dame, including 45 under [autotag]Jeff Jackson[/autotag].

Ali, who hails from Glencoe, Illinois, most recently played for the Lincoln Stars of the USHL, tallying two assists in nine games. What might have caught the Red Wings’ attention more was his season for Avon Old Farms in Connecticut. In 27 games, he scored 34 points, including 15 goals. He also had an assist in two games for the U.S. National U18 Team.

Best of luck to Ali as he prepares for his time in South Bend. Here’s hoping he’ll be an Irish legend when that time concludes.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

Check the yardage book: TPC River Highlands for the PGA Tour’s Travelers Championship

StrackaLine provides hole-by-hole maps of the site of this week’s PGA Tour event.

TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut – site of this week’s Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour – has been reworked many times since its founding in 1928, most recently by architect Bobby Weed.

Founded as Middletown Golf Club in 1928, it became Edgewood Country Club in 1934. The PGA Tour took over the property in the 1980s, and Pete Dye redesigned a layout that reopened in 1982 as TPC of Connecticut.

Bobby Weed then redesigned it as TPC River Highlands in 1989, and he worked on the course again in 2016 to remodel the bunkers and update the strategic demands.

Short by modern Tour standards, TPC River Highlands will play to 6,841 yards with a par of 70 this week.

Thanks to yardage books provided by StrackaLine – the maker of detailed yardage books for thousands of courses around the world – we can see exactly the challenges the players face this week. Check out the maps of each hole below.