Event: Jimmie Connolly
Format: Individual Match Play
Major: Yes
What is the History of the Jimmie Connolly?
Jimmie Connolly holds a special place in Austin golf history as the “King” of 1953, where he won 3 major local tournaments in the Men’s City Championship, the Firecracker Open, and the Harvey Penick Invitational, as well as the Texas Amateur Championship.
While Connolly’s prime seems to have been in the early 1950s, his first tournament victory came over 20 years before that when he won the first ever Austin Men’s City Championship in 1928. He ousted Lonnie Hornsby 3 and 2 in the finals to capture the title. One hundred golfers participated in the weeklong event in its inaugural year, a number that has increased to 158 in the 2011 edition of the tournament.
Partnering with three-time Masters Champion and Houstonian Jimmy Demaret, Connolly co-founded the Onion Creek Club in the southeastern suburbs of Austin. The course is often described as flat and natural, and the simple manicure of the grounds has made the historical club a must-play for many Texas golfers. Onion Creek hosted the Legends of Golf tournament from 1978-89.