HARTFORD, Conn. – An already stellar Travelers Championship field improved even more Monday with commitments from three players ranked in the Top 25 in the world.
Tony Finau and two players who have had excellent chances to win the tournament, Englishmen Justin Rose and Paul Casey, are the latest to commit to the TV-only event June 25-28 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.
The tournament now has eight of the Top 16 players in the Official World Golf Rankings, led by No. 1 Rory McIlroy, the 2019 PGA Tour Player of the Year and FedExCup champion. Other marquee entries are No. 3 Brooks Koepka, No. 4 Justin Thomas, No. T7 Patrick Reid, No. T7 Patrick Cantlay, No. 13 Bryson DeChambeau and Bubba Watson, who will try to tie Hall of Famer Billy Casper for most tournament wins (four). Chez Reavie is the defending champion after ending an 11-year victory drought last with a four-stroke victory over Vermont native Keegan Bradley and Zach Sucher.
“With the addition of Justin, Paul and Tony, we now have eight of the top 16 in the world rankings, and we expect it to get even better,” tournament director Nathan Grube said in a release. “The field continues to grow, and it’s an exciting to watch from home with a number of the world’s best competing at TPC River Highlands.”
Rose is a 10-time PGA Tour winner, highlighted by a victory in the U.S. Open in 2013, his last Travelers Championship appearance when he kept his commitment to the tournament a week after his only major championship victory. Rose burst onto the scene at the first major that he played when he tied for fourth as a 17-year-old amateur at the 1998 Open Championship. He also has eight victories on the European Tour, has won in South Africa, Australia and Japan and was the gold medalist at the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. Ranked No. 14 in the world and a former No. 1, Rose will be making his ninth appearance at the Travelers Championship. He tied for ninth in 2010 when he led after three rounds before closing with a 5-over-par 75.
The 16th-ranked Finau won the Puerto Rico Open in 2016 for his first PGA Tour victory. In nine starts this season, Finau has three Top-10 finishes, including second in the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He also has played well in recent major championships, finishing in the Top 10 five times in his last eight starts. Finau also played in the 2018 Ryder Cup and 2019 Presidents Cup and will be making his fifth appearance in the Travelers Championship.
Casey has won three times on the PGA Tour and 14 times on the European Tour. His first PGA Tour victory came at the 2009 Shell Houston Open, and he won the Valspar Championship in consecutive years in 2018 and 2019. Casey’s record at TPC River Highlands has been consistently strong. He lost in a playoff to Bubba Watson in 2015, tied for 17th in 2016 and then tied for fifth, second and fifth in the past three years. He has represented Europe four times in the Ryder Cup, most recently in 2018, and is ranked No. 24 in the world.
“Justin, Tony and Paul have won around the world in some of golf’s biggest tournaments, and we’re pleased that they’ll be able to join us for this year’s Travelers Championship,” said Andy Bessette, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Travelers. “They’ll be a big part of one of the best player fields we’ve ever had.”
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Travelers Championship will be the third of four events at the restart of the PGA Tour not to have spectators. The PGA Tour resumes play Thursday with the Charles Schwab Challenge at Colonial Country Club in Fort Worth, Texas, after being shut down since March 13 after the first round of The Players Championship in Ponte Vedra, Fla.
www.TravelersChampionship.com.
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