HARTFORD, Connecticut – The Travelers Championship is known for providing sponsors exemptions to the top young players in the game.
Two who received such status in the past few years and have gone on to win major championships have committed to Connecticut’s biggest sporting event June 19-22 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.
Colin Morikawa, a two-time major champion, and 2023 U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark joined defending champion and No. 1-ranked Scottie Scheffler as the initial entries to one of the PGA Tour’s eight Signature Events that has a $20 million purse, $3.6 million first prize and 70-man field of most of the top-ranked players.
“Two more fantastic additions to this year’s player field in Collin and Wyndham – players we’ve gotten to know quite well,” Andy Bessette, executive vice president and chief administrative at Travelers, said in a release. “We gave both Collin and Wyndham an exemption when they were starting out as young professionals, and they’ve turned into two stars on the PGA Tour. We appreciate the support they’ve shown the Travelers Championship through the years and look forward to seeing them again in June.”
Tournament director Nathan Grube concurred with Bessette.
“Collin and Wyndham have both achieved great success on the PGA Tour, winning major championships and competing as teammates in Ryder Cups and Presidents Cups,” Grube said. “We want our event to feature the best players in the world, so having Collin and Wyndham part of the field again adds to the fan experience and excitement to tournament week.”
Morikawa, who received a Travelers exemption in 2019, has six PGA Tour victories, including the 2020 PGA Championship and 2021 Open Championship in successive major starts. He won in only his sixth pro appearance, the 2019 Barracuda Championship, and has made all three cuts this year, including second in the Sentry Tournament of Champions. He had his best finish in four Travelers starts in 2024, a tie for 13th, and played in the 2020 and 2023 Ryder Cup and 2022 and 2024 Presidents Cup.
The 28-year-old from Las Vegas, Nev., attended the University of California-Berkeley is ranked fifth in the world and is 11th in the FedExCup points standings.
Clark’s has three PGA Tour titles and has made four of five cuts this year, including a tie for 15th in the Sentry. He made his pro debut in the Travelers Championshp in 2017, when he received a sponsors exemption, and has missed the cut in three of six tournament starts, with his best finish a tie for 15th in 2019. He set the course record at Pebble Beach Golf Links in 2024 when he shot a 12-under-par 60 in what became the final round and then won the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am for his third PGA Tour title. He also played in the 2023 Ryder Cup and 2024 Presidents Cup.
The 31-year-old Clark lives in Scottsdale, Ariz., attended the University of Orangon and is ranked seventh in the world rankings and 65th in the FedExCup rankings.
