PAUL CASEY, JASON DAY COMMIT TO 2021 TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

Jason Day, a former No. 1-ranked player in the world, and Paul Casey, a frequent challenger in Connecticut’s premiere sporting event, committed to the $7.4 million tournament June 24-27 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

HARTFORD, Conn. – Two more marquee names joined the Travelers Championship field this week.

Australian Jason Day, a former No. 1-ranked player in the world, and Englishman Paul Casey, a frequent challenger in Connecticut’s premiere sporting event, committed to the $7.4 million tournament June 24-27 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.

“Paul and Jason have both played well at our tournament over the years, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see them near the top of the leaderboard again this year,” tournament director Nathan Grube said in a release.

Day, 33, is a 12-time winner on the PGA Tour including in the 2015 PGA Championship for his first major title. He won five tournaments that year, including consecutive playoff events that moved him to No. 1 in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time, a spot he has held for 51 weeks in his career. His best finish in six previous starts at TPC River Highlands was a tie for eighth in 2019.

Casey, 43, ranked 20th in the world, will be making his seventh consecutive appearance in Cromwell. He lost a playoff to Bubba Watson in 2015, tied for second in 2018 and tied for fifth in 2017 and 2019. He has won three times on the PGA Tour and 15 times on the European Tour, including the Omega Dubai Desert Classic this year. His PGA Tour wins came in 2009 at the Shell Houston Open and at the Valspar Championship in 2018 and 2019. Casey has competed in four Ryder Cups (2004, 2006, 2008, 2018) as a member of the European team.

“We always strive to have the best players from around the world in the field, which helps the event achieve its ultimate goal of generating significant funds for charity,” said Andy Bessette, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Travelers. “Paul and Jason have established themselves as two of the biggest names in golf, and they add even more competition to a strong group of players who have already committed to play at TPC River Highlands.”

Casey and Day join early commitments from defending champion and No. 1-ranked Dustin Johnson, No. 5 and reigning U.S. Open champion Bryson DeChambeau, No. 7 Patrick Reed, No. 10 Brooks Koepka, 2012 Travelers champion Marc Leishman, Justin Rose and Watson, who will be trying to tie Hall of Famer Billy Casper for most tournament wins (four).

About 10,000 fans will be allowed to attend the tournament, starting with the pro-am on June 23 and throughout the tournament. No spectators could attend last year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Tickets will go on sale May 25 and can be purchased at TravelersChampionship.com. Two pricing options will be available that provide single-day access and include limited numbers of grounds tickets and upgraded courtyard tickets.

“There’s stuff we’re going to be able to do that we’ve never done before,” Grube said. “These courtyards that we’re building, we’ve never had the space to do it before. Fans are going to see the course in a totally different way than they have before. I’m excited about that. We’re a theater, we’re a stage, and people are going to see things in a different way.”

www.travelerschampionship.com

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Worked as sports writer for The Hartford Courant for 38 years before retiring in 2008. His major beats at the paper were golf, the Hartford Whalers, University of Connecticut men’s and women’s basketball, Yale football, United States and World Figure Skating Championships and ski columnist. He has covered every PGA Tour stop in Connecticut since 1971, along with 30 Masters, 25 U.S. Opens, four PGA Championships, 12 Deutsche Bank Championships, 15 Westchester (N.Y.) Classics and four Ryder Cups. He has won several Golf Writers Association of America writing awards, including a first place for a feature on John Daly, and was elected to the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame in 2009. He also worked for the Connecticut Whale hockey team for two years when they were renamed by former Hartford Whalers managing general partner Howard Baldwin, who had become the marketing director of the Hartford Wolf Pack, the top affiliate of the New York Rangers.

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