THREE PAST CHAMPIONS JOIN TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP

HARTFORD, Conn. – Three past champions joined an already stellar field for the Travelers Championship next week.

Defending champion Chez Reavie, Jordan Spieth (2017) and Marc Leishman (2012) are the latest players to commit to the $7.4 million tournament June 25-28 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell. The trio joins the best field since Travelers became title sponsor in 2007 that already included eight of the top 10 players on the Official World Golf Rankings: No. 1 Rory McIlroy, No. 2. Jon Rahm, No. 3 Justin Thomas, No. 4 Brooks Koepka, No. 5 Dustin Johnson, No. 6 Patrick Reed, No. 7 Patrick Cantlay and No. 9 Webb Simpson.

Other marquee commitments for the TV-only event because of the coronavirus pandemic have been No. 12 Bryson DeChambeau, No. 14 Justin Rose, No. 16 Tony Finau, No. 24 Paul Casey and Bubba Watson, who will try to tie Hall of Famer Billy Casper for most tournament wins (four).

“Tournament champions become part of the Travelers Championship family, and we’re always happy to see them return,” tournament director Nathan Grube said. “Chez, Jordan and Marc all have great memories from their winning weeks at TPC River Highlands, so I know they’re looking forward to coming back. And we’re looking forward to having them here.”

Reavie, 38, had a record-setting week at TPC River Highlands in 2019, building a tournament-record six-shot lead through three rounds and then holding off Keegan Bradley before winning by four strokes over the Vermont native and Zach Sucher for his second PGA Tour victory. In the third round, Reavie tied 2014 champion Kevin Streelman’s back-nine record, 7-under-par 28 for a 7-under 63. It was Reavie’s first victory since the 2008 RBC Canadian Open and capped his best PGA Tour season with six Top 10 finishes. This will be 10th tournament appearance for the 39th-ranked player in the world.

Spieth won in Cromwell three years ago in historic fashion when he holed a 61-foot bunker shot on the first playoff hole to beat Daniel Berger, who captured the Charles Schwab Challenge on Sunday when he parred the first playoff to defeat Collin Morikawa, one of four of the top amateurs in the world to receive a sponsors’ exemption to the Travelers Championship last year. Spieth’s dramatic shot, which set off a memorable celebration with caddie Michael Geller, is the only time that a player won a PGA Tour event by holing a bunker shot in a playoff and enabled him to join Tiger Woods as the only players to win 10 titles by the age of 24.

“I could feel the earth shake,” Spieth said of the crowd’s response to his winning shot.

Spieth, 26, is an 11-time PGA Tour winner, including three major championships, the Masters and U.S. Open in 2015 and the Open Championship in 2017. Spieth has spent 26 weeks as the world’s top-ranked player, was the PGA Tour Player of the Year and FedExCup champion in 2015, has played in three Ryder Cups and three Presidents Cups and will be making his fourth consecutive appearance at TPC River Highlands. He tied for ninth Sunday after three lean seasons in which he has failed to win since the Open Championship and dropped to 55th in the world rankings.

Leischman, 36, an Aussie ranked No. 15 in the world, overcame a six-stroke deficit in the final round in 2012, shooting a 62 to overtake Charley Hoffman for his first PGA Tour victory by one shot over Hoffman and Watson. Since then, Leischman has added victories in the 2017 Arnold Palmer Invitational and BMW Championship, the 2019 CIMB Classic and the Farmers Insurance Open in January. Leishman has played in the past four Presidents Cups as a member of the International Team and will be making his 10th start in Cromwell.

“We’re so proud of our previous winners, and Chez, Jordan and Marc have all been wonderful champions,” said Andy Bessette, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer at Travelers. “I am looking forward to see who will win this year’s Travelers Championship and join them in that distinguished club.”

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the tournament will be a TV-only event, with no spectators permitted on-site. Coverage will be shared by Golf Channel and CBS, starting at 3 p.m. Thursday June 25.

www.TravelersChampionship.com.