Maxwell, 9, finds friends at First Tee of Connecticut

One of the nine core values of the First Tee of Connecticut is confidence, and Joseph Maxwell showed a bit of it calling to order a room full of donors, golfers and professional athletes Saturday morning at the Travelers Championship.

Maxwell is 9, by the way. “My favorite part of the program is making new friends,” Maxwell said, welcoming the crowd to the 12th annual Patron’s Breakfast.

There were a few new friends for him there, including several of the First Tee’s 38 recipients this year of scholarships totaling $39,500.

They included Joseph and Troy Maxwell of Bridgeport, among the recipients of the Epstein Family Scholarship; Caroline Bunt of Ridgefield, who received the Mazumdar Family Scholarship; and Norwalk’s Derek Engel, who received the Donald E. Vacheron Scholarship.

“It’s for elementary school, middle school, high school, entering college, in college: anyone attending a tuition-based school,” First Tee of Connecticut executive director Mark Moriarty said.

Former UConn star and 2018 Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame inductee Ray Allen spoke to the crowd and answered questions about his life and career.

“The best way to be ready for competition is to equip yourself with everything you’re going to be in battle with,” Allen said. “Once you know that, then go out and win your battles. One thing they will say is you make it look so easy.”

The media was told Allen wouldn’t answer questions about reports his UConn teammate, former Huskies coach Kevin Ollie, arranged for Allen to call a recruit, one of the violations named in the school’s attempt to fire Ollie for cause.

Allen didn’t stop to talk to a reporter on the way out of the building, then was on the phone on the way to his car with his family behind him.

HOLE IN ONE

James Hahn recorded the tournament’s first hole-inone of the year Saturday morning, acing the 154-yard 11th hole on the fly with an 8-iron. It was the first holein-one of his PGA Tour career . ... Fairfield’s J.J. Henry, who is 3-under 207 for the tournament, will start at 9:54 a.m. Sunday. Henry is paired with defending champion Jordan Spieth, also at 207. Henry and Spieth were both 1-over 71 in the third round Saturday.

RIDING ALONG

Henry liked the way he was putting Friday. On Saturday, he said, the putts refused go in for him.

“I could’ve shot 3-under or something, and I shot 1-over. I was a little unfortunate,” said the former Fairfield resident. “But the good news is I get a chance at it tomorrow. There’s always positives, fresh greens, maybe play a little earlier.”

Henry was out in the chilly, misty morning at TPC River Highlands and made three bogeys and a birdie on the first four holes. He said he lipped out for eagle on No. 13 and left a putt right on the edge on 15.

And on 10, he loved his tee shot down the left side.

“I pick up my tee, everybody’s ‘great shot,’ and I get up there and I’m stymied right behind the tree,” Henry said. He made bogey. “That’s golf sometimes. You’ve got to ride the peaks and valleys.”

DAY’S DAY

World No. 9 Jason Day shot a 4-under 66, moving to 10-under for the tournament. He was pleased with his run, which left him tied for sixth.

“This course can yield some birdies, which is quite nice,” said Day, who missed the cut at the U.S. Open last week. “Get through tomorrow in a couple under on the front side, and then try to let things go a little bit on the back side if you can. If you’re rolling pretty well, you can get something really deep on the back side, and try to put a little bit of pressure on [leader Paul Casey].”

Casey, at 16-under, hold a commanding lead. He is four shots ahead of Russell Henley and it will take a major shift for anyone to catch him.

“You look down the leaderboard, you look at the guys in second all the way through to me, and even guys behind me, there’s a bunch of great players that can take it low,” Day said. “The back side [Sunday] is going to be key. If you can get something going on the back side pretty much from 11 on, if you can get from 11 to 18, 3- or 4-under par, and you’ve got a couple on the front side, then you should give yourself a pretty good shot at it.”

Paul Doyle contributed to this story. Grassy Hill Women’s Golf Association Laurel View CC Orange Hills CC Sleeping Giant GC