Jordan Spieth gives back to Philly, even though he’s a Cowboys fan; Cobbs Creek gets a $750K donation from Truist
Spieth stopped by the TGR Learning Lab ahead of the Truist Championship to host a clinic on the putting green his foundation donated last year.
With the Truist Championship teeing off at Philadelphia Cricket Club on Thursday, Truist has made a $750,000 donation to the Cobbs Creek Foundation for the renovated Cobbs Creek Golf Course.
The donation will help to rebuild the inclusive community space at the course through expanded access to golf and new youth programming.
On Monday, Truist celebrated the donation by hosting a youth putting clinic with Jordan Spieth, whose foundation completely funded the 20,000-foot junior putting green outside the TGR Learning Lab on the Cobbs Creek site. Spieth’s parents both attended Saucon Valley High School in Hellertown, in Lehigh Valley, which added to his excitement to support the course.
“My parents are from up the road,” Spieth said. “We don’t really come to this area very often, so that’s pretty cool. My dad is with us here, we have family up here. The only downside is that I’m a Cowboys fan, so being in this area, I’m always just a little bit, jaded, a little nervous about what kind of reception there will be. Hopefully this facility makes that a little bit better, but we’re not really competitive with the Eagles right now.”
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Spieth played alongside the golf team from Monsignor Bonner & Archbishop Prendergast Catholic High School, whose home course is historically Cobbs Creek, but have relocated to Bala Cynwyd.
Coach Chris Pugliese, who played for the Friars himself in high school, is on the education committee for the Cobbs Creek renovation, and hopes his students will be able to return to play at the course once it reopens.
“Being able to go to places that allow the everyday golfers to play and have access, and then you can watch the course as a fan, and be like, ‘Oh, I play here next week,’” Spieth said. “A lot of what takes place is in private clubs. The idea that you have these guys who do some of the best golf courses, and make it as good as any private club in the world is going to be super cool. It’s something that you can’t really do everywhere, but if you do it right a few places, you can get a lot of people back in the game.”
The Learning Lab, supported by Tiger Woods, is still a work in progress, but it opened on April 1 for its first after-school and weekend programming. The facility‘s educational programs will also include classes and programming in STEM and the arts, plus college readiness courses.
The Cobbs Creek Golf Course was the home course for Woods’ mentor, Charlie Sifford, the first Black golfer on the PGA Tour, which made it the perfect site for the nation’s second TGR Learning Lab.
The historic public golf course was closed in 2020 because of frequent flooding and safety concerns, and is expected to begin the first stages of reopening for play in September. The renovations, which have been primarily funded by the nonprofit Cobbs Creek Restoration & Community Foundation, replaced the clubhouse, fixed the flood plain, and created wetlands around the creek to prevent flooding, in addition to the construction of the Learning Lab.