Canadian Austin Connelly first made his PGA Tour debut as an amateur at the AT&T Byron Nelson, when he was just 17-years old. In his first full season as a professional on the Mackenzie Tour/PGA Tour Canada, he had four Top-10 finishes and eight Top-25 finishes in 12 starts, finishing 7th on the Order of Merit. Following this strong season, the 21-year old decided to try his luck on the European Tour in 2017.
Connelly is known for his slight stature—he’s listed as 5-foot-6 and 150 pounds, though anyone who has seen the diminutive golfer might he must have lined his pockets with rocks to make the weight. Regardless, he’s recognized as having a world-class short game, and since he was in his early teens, he’s played and practiced with long-time friend Jordan Spieth.
Connelly started the year with only limited status on the European Tour, but his hard work has led to some significant successes. In June, he finished 6th at the Nordea Masters, and he qualified into the British Open, his first major. He caused quite a stir with his strong play through three rounds at the Open Championship, though he couldn’t quite find the magic during the final round. Still, he finished in a tie for 14th and elected to skip the RBC Canadian Open to continue to chase full status on the European Tour. A second-place finish at the KLM Open in September cemented his place on the tour, and he’s currently 74th on the Race to Dubai list.
Connelly garnered a fair bit of social media attention this past week after his mother posted a photo of the golfer with Sergio Garcia in 1999. At the time Connelly was only three. Fast forward 18 years and the pair recreated the photo after playing together in the third round of Italian Open.
1999: A kid and his idol
2017: Playing partners #ItalianOpen pic.twitter.com/aCuQEUDrpq— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) October 14, 2017
With the 2017 European Tour winding down, one thing is for sure for this young star – his future is bright.
Here’s a look at some of the TaylorMade equipment in Connelly’s bag:
Driver: TAYLORMADE (1; M1 460; 10.5 (TITA))
Irons: (3^; TOUR PREFERRED UDI), TAYLORMADE (4-6; P770), TAYLORMADE (7-PW; P750)
Fairway: TAYLORMADE (3; M2 (17); 16.5 (M))
Ball: TP5X
Golf Canada announced its 2018 National Amateur Squad this week. Check out the next generation of young stars representing Team Canada.