CROMWELL, Conn. – Nathan Grube, the Tournament Director of the Travelers Championship, used to worry about the years that the US Open took place at the West Coast.
Many of the world’s top golfers would choose to take a break the week after the Major or travel to Europe to prepare for the Open Championship rather than travel across the country to play TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.
But this year in reply to LIV GolfThe Travelers was elevated to one of 17 so-called ‘designated’ PGA Tour events, with much larger prize money and a near mandate for top golfers, giving the tournament a guarantee of a strong field.
“I can tell you with certainty that even though I love the tournament so much, I probably wouldn’t have been here,” Masters champion Jon Rahm said Tuesday. “Nevertheless, they have done a great job of making players feel comfortable. A charter flight always makes it a lot easier, maybe not for the top two or three players in the world, but for other people who are top-notch players. “Well, they come and take part in this event.”
This week’s tournament field includes the eight best golfers in the world rankings and 38 of the top 50.
Grube and his team have earned a reputation for pampering golfers to bring them to Connecticut, including providing free charter flights to Open players.
Once you’re in the state, there are perks like free laundry and haircuts for caddies, on-site day care, and day trips for spouses and kids to amusement parks. This year, the tournament was expanded to include a coffee and ice cream bar and a lounge on the driving range.
Grube said the Travelers were voted one of the first events to gain elevated status last fall, in part because of their player-friendly reputation.
“We auditioned for this for 16 years,” Grube said, referring to the length of time Travelers has been the event’s title sponsor. “And when it was time to go…there we were.”
The set status means the total prize has increased from $8.3 million to $20 million, with the winner taking home $3.6 million, rather than the nearly $1.5 million Xander won Schauffele took home with him last June.
The top players on the PGA Tour must compete in 16 of the 17 scheduled events.
“Every time we’re at these high-profile events, it almost feels like we’re in the playoffs,” said Schauffele during last month’s Traveler’s Media Day press conference. “All come ready to go, the best players in the world.” every week.
Thirteen of the 17 planned tournaments, including the four majors, have this status on a permanent basis. The other four events, such as the Travelers, were originally supposed to change from year to year.
Travelers Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer Andy Bessette said the Connecticut tournament is in talks to maintain its intended status for the foreseeable future.
“I’ve been working on the arrangement to keep us high 24, 25, 26 and I think we’re getting close,” he said Tuesday. “But I think with everything that’s happening in the world of golf these days, we have to be a little more careful to make sure we understand what it’s going to be like. So it’s a bit difficult at the moment as the final agreement will be finalized by the end of the year. And when that’s done, we’ll have to see how it will work out.”
One possibility is that the Travelers could become an event featuring only the top 70 or so golfers in the world with no cutoff, Bessette said.
But this tournament is known for giving younger golfers their first chance to compete in a PGA Tour event. US Open winner Wyndham Clark made his Connecticut debut in 2017 and 17 golfers have recorded their first PGA Tour victory with the Travelers, including Stewart Cink (1997) and Bubba Watson (2010).
Patrick Cantlay, who scored his first major hit on the course as an amateur with a 60 in 2011, said he wasn’t worried about young golfers missing an opportunity.
“I think it could potentially lose something, but I think it also gains something,” he said. “I think there’s a real power in having all the stars play at one event and having them here every four days. I don’t think there will be a difference on the tour. If you’re good enough to score points, you’ll find your way here sooner rather than later.”
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