While there won’t be any fans at this week’s Travelers Championship due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the silver lining for Connecticut’s top annual sporting event is that it’s still featuring 15 of the world’s top 20 professional golfers.
Tournament officials say the field of 156 players includes 109 golfers who have won at least one PGA TOUR event, and 10 players who have won the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.
Notable players, among others, include Rory McIlroy (No. 1), Jon Rahm (No. 2), Justin Thomas (No. 3), Brooks Koepka (No. 4), Dustin Johnson (No. 5), Patrick Reed (No. 6), Patrick Cantlay (No. 7), Webb Simpson (No. 9) and Xander Schauffele (No. 10).
Previous tournament champions Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, Jordan Spieth, Hunter Mahan and Marc Leishman will also be in attendance. View the entire player field here.
The four-day tournament can be viewed on Golf Channel between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. on Thursday and Friday, and from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday. CBS will broadcast the tournament on Saturday and Sunday from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m.
“Our fans may not be on the course alongside the players this year, but this tournament has a special way of creating excitement and bringing people together no matter where they are,” said Andy Bessette, executive vice president and chief administrative officer at property-casualty insurer Travelers Cos., which has a major presence in downtown Hartford.
“We’re thrilled that the tournament will be one of the first live sporting events since March, and with so many of the top PGA TOUR players competing, we can’t wait to see who takes home the trophy on Sunday,” Bessette added.
The Travelers Championship in April said the tournament would continue as planned this month as the PGA Tour adjusted the remainder of the 2019-2020 FedExCup season in response to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Grube said the tournament is still contributing all proceeds to charity. The event generated approximately $2 million for more than 150 charitable organizations last year, when Chez Reavie held onto a six-stroke lead to capture the 2019 Travelers Championship title.
The tournament, which generates a roughly $68 million economic impact annually for the state, doesn’t release attendance numbers, but several media outlets estimate the tournament annually draws a few hundred thousand spectators.
