Nathan Grube, the tournament director of the Travelers Championship, worried about the years when the US Open took place on the West Coast.
Many of the top players in the world will make a decision to rest the week after the major or go to Europe to start preparing for the Open Championship, rather than travel across the country to play at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.
But this year, in response to LIV Golf, the Travelers has been elevated to one of the 17 so-called “designated” events on the PGA Tour, with a bigger purse and a closer mandate for the leaders. players to play, giving the tournament a guarantee of a strong field.
“I can tell you with confidence that I probably wouldn’t be here even if I really liked the tournament,” Masters champion Jon Rahm said Tuesday. “That being said, they have done a good job making the players comfortable. Having a charter flight always makes it easier, maybe not for the best two or three players in the world, but for others man with high quality players to come and compete in this event.
This week’s tournament field includes the top eight players in the world rankings and 38 of the top 50.
Grube and his team have earned a reputation for pampering golfers in an effort to bring them to Connecticut, including running free charter flights for golfers from the Open.
Once in state, there are perks including free laundry and haircuts for caddies, on-site day care, and day trips for spouses and children to amusement parks. . This year, the tournament added a coffee and ice cream bar and lounge at the driving range.
Grube said it was in part because of its player-friendly reputation that Travelers was chosen last fall to be one of the first events to win the top status.
“We’ve been auditioning for this for 16 years,” Grube said, a reference to the length of time the Travelers have been the event’s title sponsor. “And when it was time to go … We showed up.”
The designated status means that the total purse has increased from $8.3 to $20 million, with the winner taking home $3.6 million instead of just under $1. 5 million Xander Schauffele returned home in June.
The top players on the PGA Tour must play in 16 of the 17 designated events.
“It almost feels like we’re in the playoffs every time we’re in these long events,” Schauffele said during a Traveler media news conference last month. “Everyone shows up, ready to go, the best players in the world show up every week.”
Thirteen of the 17 designated tournaments, including four majors, have such status in perpetuity. The other four events, such as Travelers, were originally expected to rotate annually.
Andy Bessette, the executive vice president and chief administrative officer for the Travelers, said the Connecticut tournament is in talks to maintain its designated status for the foreseeable future.
“I did the deal to keep us high at 24, 25, 26, and I think we’re getting close,” he said Tuesday. “But I think with everything that’s going on in the golf world these days, we have to be careful to make sure we understand what it’s going to look like. So it’s a little bit difficult now because the definitive agreement is going to be done at the end of the year . And when that’s done, we’ll have to see how it works.”
One of the possibilities is that the Travelers will be an event with only the top 70 or so players in the world, without a cut, said Bessette.
But this tournament is known for giving young golfers their first shot at playing in a PGA Tour event. US Open champion Wyndham Clark made his Connecticut debut in 2017 and 17 golfers have earned their first PGA Tour victory at the Travelers, including Stewart Cink (1997) and Bubba Watson (2010).
Patrick Cantlay, who made his first major mark by shooting a 60 on this course as an amateur in 2011, said he is not worried about young golfers missing out on opportunities.
“I think it may lose something, but I also think it gains something,” he said. “I think there’s real power to have all the stars play in one event and they’re here for all four days. I don’t think it’s any different on the Tour. If you’re good at shooting points , you will find your way here sooner rather than later.
Photo: A group plays the 17th hole during the Travelers Championship golf tournament Pro-Am at TPC River Highlands, Wednesday, June 21, 2023, in Cromwell, Conn. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
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