Travelers Championship

The Travelers Championship is a professional golf tournament on the PGA Tour in Cromwell, Connecticut, a suburb south of Hartford. Since 1984 the tournament has been held at TPC River Highlands. It is managed by The Greater Hartford Community Foundation. In 2018 the Travelers Championship earned the Players Choice Award for the second consecutive year, which is voted on by PGA Tour members for its services, hospitality, attendance and quality of the course.

Travelers Championship

Tournament information
Location	Cromwell, Connecticut
Established	1952
Course(s)	TPC at River Highlands
Par	70
Length	6,844 yards (6,258 m)
Organized by	Greater Hartford Community Foundation
Tour(s)	PGA Tour
Format	Stroke play
Prize fund	US$20,000,000
Month played	June
Tournament record score
Aggregate	257 Keegan Bradley (2023)
To par	−25 Tim Norris (1982)
Current champion
Keegan Bradley
Location Map
TPC at River Highlands Location in United States Show map of the United States TPC at River Highlands Location in Connecticut Show map of Connecticut

The 2016 tournament was played in August due to the Summer Olympics,^[1] but in 2017 the tournament returned to June.

History

The tournament was founded 72 years ago in 1952 as the Insurance City Open;^[2] It was renamed the Greater Hartford Open in 1967, a title that was retained through 2003. From 1973 through 1988, the GHO also bore the name of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., who would often play in the pro-ams. Canon was a title sponsor from 1985 to 2002, and their employees would often take vacation time during tournament week to volunteer at the event. Buick was title sponsor from 2004 to 2006 and The Travelers Companies took over sponsorship in 2007.

For the tournament's first three decades, it was played at Wethersfield Country Club, about five miles (8 km) north. In 1984, after the PGA Tour bought and redesigned Edgewood Country Club, the event moved to the new TPC of Connecticut in Cromwell. In 1991, the course was substantially redesigned with a completely new front nine holes and renamed the TPC at River Highlands. This TPC property was the third PGA Tour owned/managed championship golf course in what would grow to a network of over 30 TPC Clubs (2010).

When Canon announced it would not renew its sponsorship after the 2002 season, organizers feared the tournament would lose its spot on the tour for the 2003 season if a new sponsor could not be found. A fundraising campaign, followed by Buick signing a three year sponsorship agreement, allowed the tournament to continue under the title Buick Championship. When Buick did not renew its sponsorship after the 2006 season, the tournament briefly lost its spot on the tour schedule, and a "less prestigious" spot on the Champions Tour was considered. However, a spot opened on the tour, and Travelers signed on to sponsor the tournament starting 2007.^[3]

The purse for the 2006 tournament, under Buick's sponsorship, was $4.4 million, with $792,000 going to the winner. From 2007 to 2010, the purse under Travelers' sponsorship was $6 million, with $1,080,000 going to the champion.

Over the last decade, longer hitters have done well at the tournament, with Stewart Cink, Hunter Mahan, J. J. Henry, Phil Mickelson, and Bubba Watson combining for six victories over a ten-year span. Mahan also finished tied for second in 2006 and 2008.^[4]

Its position on the calendar has varied; in 2005 it was played in late August but in 2006 it was played in late June. Part of the FedEx Cup, the Travelers Championship has been played in late June, the week after the U.S. Open, since 2007.

For the 2020 season, it is part of the Open Qualifying Series providing up to two spots in the Open Championship for the top two non-exempt finishers in the top 8.

Attendance

It is the second-most-attended PGA Tour event annually, behind only the Waste Management Phoenix Open.^[5] In 2011, the tournament attracted 240,000 fans for the week and 70,000 fans on Sunday. The tournament set a record attendance in 2002 with nearly 400,000 fans for the week. In 2017 about 290,000 fans attended, the most since Travelers started hosting the tournament.^[6]

Course

Main article: TPC River Highlands

Hole	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	Out	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	17	18	In	Total
Yards	434	341	431	481	223	574	443	202	406	3,535	462	158	411	523	421	296	171	420	444	3,306	6,841
Par	4	4	4	4	3	5	4	3	4	35	4	3	4	5	4	4	3	4	4	35	70

Source:^[7]

Winners

Year	Winner	Score	To par	Margin of victory	Runner(s)-up	Purse (US$)	Winner's share ($)	Ref.
Travelers Championship
2023	Keegan Bradley	257	−23	3 strokes	Zac Blair   Brian Harman	20,000,000	3,600,000
2022	Xander Schauffele	261	−19	2 strokes	J. T. Poston   Sahith Theegala	8,300,000	1,494,000
2021	Harris English	267	−13	Playoff	Kramer Hickok	7,400,000	1,332,000
2020	Dustin Johnson	261	−19	1 stroke	Kevin Streelman	7,400,000	1,332,000
2019	Chez Reavie	263	−17	4 strokes	Keegan Bradley   Zack Sucher	7,200,000	1,296,000
2018	Bubba Watson (3)	263	−17	3 strokes	Paul Casey   Stewart Cink   J. B. Holmes   Beau Hossler	7,000,000	1,260,000
2017	Jordan Spieth	268	−12	Playoff	Daniel Berger	6,800,000	1,224,000
2016	Russell Knox	266	−14	1 stroke	Jerry Kelly	6,600,000	1,188,000
2015	Bubba Watson (2)	264	−16	Playoff	Paul Casey	6,400,000	1,152,000
2014	Kevin Streelman	265	−15	1 stroke	K. J. Choi   Sergio García	6,200,000	1,116,000
2013	Ken Duke	268	−12	Playoff	Chris Stroud	6,100,000	1,098,000
2012	Marc Leishman	266	−14	1 stroke	Charley Hoffman   Bubba Watson	6,000,000	1,080,000
2011	Freddie Jacobson	260	−20	1 stroke	Ryan Moore   John Rollins	6,000,000	1,080,000
2010	Bubba Watson	266	−14	Playoff	Corey Pavin   Scott Verplank	6,000,000	1,080,000
2009	Kenny Perry	258	−22	3 strokes	Paul Goydos   David Toms	6,000,000	1,080,000
2008	Stewart Cink (2)	262	−18	1 stroke	Tommy Armour III   Hunter Mahan	6,000,000	1,080,000
2007	Hunter Mahan	265	−15	Playoff	Jay Williamson	6,000,000	1,080,000
Buick Championship
2006	J. J. Henry	266	−14	3 strokes	Hunter Mahan   Ryan Moore	4,400,000	792,000
2005	Brad Faxon	266	−14	Playoff	Tjaart van der Walt	4,300,000	774,000
2004	Woody Austin	270	−10	Playoff	Tim Herron	4,200,000	756,000
Greater Hartford Open
2003	Peter Jacobsen (2)	266	−14	2 strokes	Chris Riley	4,000,000	720,000
Canon Greater Hartford Open
2002	Phil Mickelson (2)	266	−14	1 stroke	Jonathan Kaye   Davis Love III	4,000,000	720,000
2001	Phil Mickelson	264	−16	1 stroke	Billy Andrade	3,100,000	558,000
2000	Notah Begay III	260	−20	1 stroke	Mark Calcavecchia	2,800,000	504,000
1999	Brent Geiberger	262	−18	3 strokes	Skip Kendall	2,500,000	450,000
1998	Olin Browne	266	−14	Playoff	Stewart Cink   Larry Mize	2,000,000	360,000
1997	Stewart Cink	267	−13	1 stroke	Tom Byrum   Brandel Chamblee   Jeff Maggert	1,500,000	270,000
1996	D. A. Weibring	270	−10	4 strokes	Tom Kite	1,500,000	270,000
1995	Greg Norman	267	−13	2 strokes	Dave Stockton Jr.   Kirk Triplett   Grant Waite	1,200,000	216,000
1994	David Frost	268	−12	1 stroke	Greg Norman	1,200,000	216,000
1993	Nick Price	271	−9	1 stroke	Dan Forsman   Roger Maltbie	1,000,000	180,000
1992	Lanny Wadkins	274	−6	2 strokes	Dan Forsman   Donnie Hammond   Nick Price	1,000,000	180,000
1991	Billy Ray Brown	271	−9	Playoff	Rick Fehr   Corey Pavin	1,000,000	180,000
1990	Wayne Levi	267	−13	2 strokes	Mark Calcavecchia   Brad Fabel   Rocco Mediate   Chris Perry	1,000,000	180,000
1989	Paul Azinger (2)	267	−17	1 stroke	Wayne Levi	1,000,000	180,000
Canon Sammy Davis Jr.–Greater Hartford Open
1988	Mark Brooks	269	−15	Playoff	Dave Barr   Joey Sindelar	700,000	126,000
1987	Paul Azinger	269	−15	1 stroke	Dan Forsman   Wayne Levi	700,000	126,000
1986	Mac O'Grady	269	−15	Playoff	Roger Maltbie	700,000	126,000
1985	Phil Blackmar	271	−13	Playoff	Jodie Mudd   Dan Pohl	600,000	108,000
Sammy Davis Jr.-Greater Hartford Open
1984	Peter Jacobsen	269	−15	2 strokes	Mark O'Meara	400,000	72,000
1983	Curtis Strange	268	−16	1 stroke	Jay Haas   Jack Renner	300,000	54,000
1982	Tim Norris	259	−25	6 strokes	Raymond Floyd   Hubert Green	300,000	54,000
1981	Hubert Green	264	−20	1 stroke	Bobby Clampett   Fred Couples   Roger Maltbie	300,000	54,000
1980	Howard Twitty	266	−18	Playoff	Jim Simons	300,000	54,000
1979	Jerry McGee	267	−17	1 stroke	Jack Renner	300,000	54,000
1978	Rod Funseth	264	−20	4 strokes	Dale Douglass   Lee Elder   Billy Kratzert	210,000	42,000
1977	Billy Kratzert	265	−19	3 strokes	Grier Jones   Larry Nelson	210,000	42,000
1976	Rik Massengale	266	−18	2 strokes	Al Geiberger   J. C. Snead	210,000	42,000
1975	Don Bies	267	−17	Playoff	Hubert Green	200,000	40,000
1974	Dave Stockton	268	−16	4 strokes	Raymond Floyd	200,000	40,000
1973	Billy Casper (4)	264	−20	1 stroke	Bruce Devlin	200,000	40,000
Greater Hartford Open Invitational
1972	Lee Trevino	269	−15	Playoff	Lee Elder	125,000	25,000
1971	George Archer	268	−16	Playoff	Lou Graham   J. C. Snead	110,000	22,000
1970	Bob Murphy	267	−17	4 strokes	Paul Harney	100,000	20,000
1969	Bob Lunn	268	−16	Playoff	Dave Hill	100,000	20,000
1968	Billy Casper (3)	266	−18	3 strokes	Bruce Crampton	100,000	20,000
1967	Charlie Sifford	272	−12	1 stroke	Steve Oppermann	100,000	20,000
Insurance City Open Invitational
1966	Art Wall Jr.	266	−18	2 strokes	Wes Ellis	100,000	20,000
1965	Billy Casper (2)	274	−10	Playoff	Johnny Pott	70,000	11,000
1964	Ken Venturi	273	−11	1 stroke	Al Besselink   Paul Bondeson   Sam Carmichael   Jim Grant	50,000	7,500
1963	Billy Casper	271	−13	1 stroke	George Bayer	40,000	6,400
1962	Bob Goalby	271	−13	Playoff	Art Wall Jr.	35,000	5,300
1961	Billy Maxwell	271	−13	Playoff	Ted Kroll	30,000	4,300
1960	Arnold Palmer (2)	270	−14	Playoff	Bill Collins   Jack Fleck	30,000	3,500
1959	Gene Littler	272	−12	1 stroke	Tom Nieporte	25,000	3,500
1958	Jack Burke Jr.	268	−16	3 strokes	Dow Finsterwald   Art Wall Jr.	25,000	3,500
1957	Gardner Dickinson	272	−12	2 strokes	George Bayer	22,000	2,800	^[8]
Insurance City Open
1956	Arnold Palmer	274	−10	Playoff	Ted Kroll	20,000	4,000	^[9]^[10]^[11]
1955	Sam Snead	269	−15	7 strokes	Fred Hawkins   Mike Souchak	20,000	4,000	^[12]
1954	Tommy Bolt	271	−13	Playoff	Earl Stewart	15,000	2,500	^[13]
1953	Bob Toski	269	−15	1 stroke	Jim Ferrier	15,000	2,400	^[14]
1952	Ted Kroll	273	−11	4 strokes	Lawson Little   Skee Riegel   Earl Stewart	15,000	2,400	^[2]

Note: Green highlight indicates scoring records.
Sources:^[4][15][16]

Multiple winners

Seven men have won the Travelers Championship more than once through 2018.

• 4 wins
  • Billy Casper: 1963, 1965, 1968, 1973
• 3 wins
  • Bubba Watson: 2010, 2015, 2018
• 2 wins
  • Arnold Palmer: 1956, 1960
  • Paul Azinger: 1987, 1989
  • Phil Mickelson: 2001, 2002
  • Peter Jacobsen: 1984, 2003
  • Stewart Cink: 1997, 2008

Highlights

• 1952: Ted Kroll wins the inaugural tournament. He beats Lawson Little, Skee Riegel, and Earl Stewart by four shots.^[2][17]
• 1955: Amateur Bill Whedon becomes the first player in PGA Tour history to record two holes-in-one in the same round.^[18]
• 1956: Arnold Palmer makes the Insurance City Open his first United States based PGA Tour victory by beating Ted Kroll in a playoff.^[11] Afterwards Palmer said "Ted is a great guy—he even gave me the putter that beat him."^[19]
• 1962: Bob Goalby defeats Art Wall Jr. on the seventh hole of a sudden death playoff after Wall misses an 18-inch putt for par on the 72nd hole.^[20]
• 1967: African American golfer Charlie Sifford wins his first PGA Tour event. He beats Steve Oppermann by one shot.^[21]
• 1968: Billy Casper becomes the tournament's first three-time winner. He beats Bruce Crampton by three shots.^[22]
• 1972: Lee Trevino defeats Lee Elder in a sudden death playoff. If Elder had won, he would have become qualified for The Masters.^[23]
• 1973: Billy Casper shoots a final round 64 to win for the fourth time at Hartford. He beats Bruce Devlin by one shot.^[24]
• 1974: Dave Stockton wins by four shots over Raymond Floyd. After the tournament, Stockton gets a congratulatory call from then President Gerald Ford. Stockton also arranges to donate his entire $40,000 winnings check to charity.^[25]
• 1977: Billy Kratzert beats Grier Jones and Larry Nelson by three shots. Two years earlier, Kratzert had quit golf and gone to work as a forklift operator.^[26]
• 1981: Ninety-one players made the 36-hole cut, a PGA Tour record.
• 1982: Tim Norris sets tournament records for aggregate (259) scoring and under par (−25) as he wins by six shots over Hubert Green and Raymond Floyd.^[27]
• 1986: Mac O'Grady shoots a final round 62 to catch Roger Maltbie, then defeats him on the first hole of sudden death.^[28]
• 1989: Paul Azinger chips it in on the 72nd hole to beat Wayne Levi by one shot.^[29]
• 1992: Lanny Wadkins, who had last played in Hartford in 1978, shoots a final round 65 to win by two shots over Dan Forsman, Nick Price, and Donnie Hammond.^[30]
• 2000: Notah Begay III wins for the second week in succession after he makes birdie on the 72nd hole to edge Mark Calcavecchia by one shot.^[31]
• 2002: Phil Mickelson becomes the first winner to successfully defend his title. He beats Jonathan Kaye and Davis Love III by one shot.^[32]
• 2003: Nineteen years after his first triumph in Hartford, Peter Jacobsen wins again, beating Chris Riley.^[33] Jacobsen's $720,000 winner's check was ten times what he earned in 1984.^[34] The tournament was also notable when Suzy Whaley became the first woman in 58 years to play in a PGA Tour event, though her appearance was controversial after playing from shorter tees during her qualifying tournament, the Connecticut PGA Championship.
• 2011: Patrick Cantlay, an amateur golfer from UCLA, set a course-record of 10-under 60, the lowest round ever shot on the PGA Tour by an amateur.^[35]
• 2014: Kevin Streelman birdies the last seven holes in the final round, a PGA Tour record for an event winner.^[36]
• 2016: Jim Furyk shot a 12-under-par 58 in the final round, becoming the first player to shoot 58 in a PGA Tour event.^[37]
• 2017: Jordan Spieth wins in a playoff against Daniel Berger by holing his bunker shot for birdie on the first playoff hole. Berger had a chance to advance the playoff, but missed his long birdie putt.
• 2021: Harris English wins a sudden-death playoff against Kramer Hickok on the 8th hole, a playoff which tied for the second longest sudden-death playoff in PGA Tour history.^[38]

References

1. Wacker, Brian (July 23, 2015). "Travelers Championship announces new date". PGA Tour.
2. "Ted Kroll wins first tournament". Ottawa Citizen. Associated Press. September 2, 1952. p. 18.
3. "In 2002, the Greater Hartford Open nearly went broke; here's how organizers, with help from Phil Mickelson, kept it afloat". The Hartford Courant. June 16, 2019. Retrieved July 3, 2022.
4. "Travelers Championship – Past Winners". PGA Tour. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
5. Inside the course: TPC River Highlands 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine
6. "Spieth's Playoff Win Caps Record Attendance For PGA Tour Travelers Championship". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved 2017-07-25.
7. "Course map" (PDF). Travelers Championship. May 2012. Retrieved June 8, 2012.
8. "Dickinson Takes Insurance Golf". The Modesto Bee. California. United Press. September 3, 1957. p. 17. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
9. "Littler Listed Insurance City Golf Favorite". The Deseret News. Salt Lake City, Utah. United Press. June 28, 1956. p. 2D. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
10. "Weather Rated Big Factor In Insurance Open". The Tuscaloosa News. Alabama. Associated Press. June 28, 1956. p. 11. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
11. "Palmer takes Insurance Open after playoff with Ted Kroll". Montreal Gazette. Associated Press. June 2, 1956. p. 16.
12. "Sammy Snead Takes Berth". Prescott Evening Courier. Arizona. Associated Press. September 6, 1955. p. 5. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
13. "Bolt and Stewart Play Off For Wethersfield Golf Cash". The Day. New London, Connecticut. Associated Press. June 28, 1954. p. 19. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
14. "Toski Nabs $15,000 Insurance City Go". Daytona Beach Morning Journal. Florida. Associated Press. August 31, 1953. p. 7. Retrieved June 26, 2010.
15. Travelers Championship – Winners 2011-06-29 at the Wayback Machine – at golfobserver.com (since 1970)
16. Johnson, Sal; Seanor, Dave, eds. (2009). The USA Today Golfers Encyclopedia. New York, New York: Skyhorse Publishing. ISBN 978-1-60239-302-8.
17. Ted Kroll Cops Storm-Hindered Insurance Open
18. Staats, Wayne (October 29, 2018). "These are the only three golfers to make two holes-in-one in same PGA Tour round". PGA of America. Retrieved February 26, 2019.
19. Palmer Uses Foe's Putter for Playoff Win
20. 18-inch putt costs Wall $1,900
21. Charles Sifford Wins Hartford Tourney
22. Casper Grabs Hartford Win
23. Trevino Tops Elder To Cop Hartford Open
24. Billy Casper Leaves Mob to Capture Hartford Crown
25. Stockton Claims Hartford Win
26. Kratzert outduels Strange, wins Greater Hartford Open
27. Norris wins in Hartford by 6 strokes
28. Controversial Mac 'Grady wins Hartford Open
29. Azinger of a chip keys Hartford win
30. Lanny Wadkins wins his 21st title at the Hartford Open
31. Long Putt Gives Begay Back-to-Back Victories
32. Golf; Mickelson Earns Repeat Title at Greater Hartford Open
33. "Hartford triumph for Jacobsen". The Age. 2003-07-28. from the original on 2012-11-06.
34. Tournament History 2011-05-04 at the Wayback Machine
35. "Patrick Cantlay's 60 is amateur record on PGA Tour". San Francisco Chronicle. Associated Press. June 25, 2011. Retrieved June 18, 2013.
36. "Streelman sets birdie record in win". ESPN. Associated Press. June 22, 2014.
37. Sobel, Jason (August 7, 2016). "Jim Furyk notches record for best PGA Tour round". ESPN.
38. "Longest Sudden-Death Playoff". PGA Tour. Retrieved 2021-06-28.

External links

• Official website  
• Coverage on the PGA Tour's official site
• TPC River Highlands
• Greater Hartford Jaycees website

41°37′55″N 72°38′20″W / 41.632°N 72.639°W / 41.632; -72.639