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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.

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

Source:[7]

Winners

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

Multiple winners

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

Highlights

References

  1. ^ Wacker, Brian (July 23, 2015). "Travelers Championship announces new date". PGA Tour.
  2. ^ a b c "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. ^ a b "Travelers Championship – Past Winners". PGA Tour. Retrieved June 16, 2014.
  5. ^ Inside the course: TPC River Highlands Archived 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. ^ a b "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 Archived 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. Archived from the original on 2012-11-06.
  34. ^ Tournament History Archived 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.
  39. ^ Romine, Brentley (2024-06-23). "Scottie Scheffler just did something not even Tiger Woods or Jack Nicklaus can claim". NBC Sports. Retrieved 2024-06-23.

External links

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