AKRON, Ohio — Former Hartford men's golfer Jerry Kelly (89') is coming off of his first major on the PGA TOUR Champions this past weekend after claiming a two-shot victory at the Bridgestone SENIOR PLAYERS Championship, held at Firestone in Akron, Ohio.
 
Kelly, who finished on top of the leaderboard after rounds two and three on Friday and Saturday, respectively, held a one-shot advantage over Scott Parel before gaining control of the lead with a hole-in-one on the 12th hole. He carded a 1-under 69 in that round to take medalist honors with a 3-under.
 
The victory, which was his first of the year and his seventh since he turned 50 to become eligible in 2017, gives Kelly a spot in THE PLAYERS Championship next March. He also gets a five-year exemption into the PGA TOUR Champions' season-opener on the Big Island in Hawaii. 
 
Kelly now has a pair of top-10 finishes this season, as he tied for seventh at the Ally Challenge, held at Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club earlier this month. He is currently sixth in the Charles Schwab Cup standings after finishing second in 2019.
 
Compiling a career stroke average of 75.9 during his collegiate career, including a 74.7 average in 1987-88, Kelly paced the Hawks to four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances during his career. Kelly tallied 27 top-10 finishes with the Hawks, including four first-place, seven second-place, six third-place and one fifth-place performances.
 
Inducted into Hartford's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2002, Kelly was a four-year member of the Hawks men's golf team from 1986-89. During his time at Hartford, he was a four-time All-New England performer, earning First Team All-New England honors in 1985-85 and again in 1988-89. In addition, Kelly received NCAA All-Region distinction in 1986-87.

A native of Madison, Wis., Kelly turned professional after graduating. His best career year came in 2002, when he finished fourth on the PGA Tour money list and won the PGA Tour's Sony Open and Advil Western Open.

Kelly graduated from Hartford's Barney School of Business with a degree in business. He Received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from the University of Hartford in June 2009.