The First Look: Travelers Championship

The Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands is the first event on the revised PGA TOUR schedule that will take place in its original spot on the calendar. The longtime TOUR event will feature a stout field that includes the top five golfers in the world and defending champion Chez Reavie. FIELD NOTES: Sungjae Im looks to extend his FedExCup lead while all of the top 10 in the FedExCup standings are set to play at TPC River Highlands… Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas, and Dustin Johnson, the top five players in the Official World Golf Ranking, will be in a PGA TOUR field for the third straight week… Phil Mickelson, who won back-to-back Travelers in 2001 and 2002, will play his first event as a 50-year-old… TOUR winners Viktor Hovland and Matthew Wolff return to the site of their professional debuts in 2019… Sahith Theegala, the winner of this year’s Haskins Award as the top player in college golf, was given an exemption and will play his first PGA TOUR event as a pro. He previously finished T49 in the 2017 Genesis Invitational and missed the cut in the 2017 U.S. Open… Fellow collegiate star Peter Kuest of BYU will also debut as a pro… Recent Travelers champions Bubba Watson, Jordan Spieth, Russell Knox, Kevin Streelman, and Marc Leishman join Reavie in the field. FEDEXCUP: Winner gets 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: TPC River Highlands, 6,841 yards, par 70. This year marks the 37th for River Highlands as a PGA TOUR host. Pete Dye redesigned the course to TPC standards in the early 1980’s. It was renamed ‘TPC River Highlands’ after further remodeling in 1989, completed by Bobby Weed and in consultation with TOUR pros Roger Maltbie and Howard Twitty. STORYLINES: Bubba Watson looks to join Billy Casper as the only four-time winner of the Travelers. Watson won in 2010, 2015, and 2018… Phil Mickelson took the RBC Heritage off as he turned 50 on June 16th but will play his first event since becoming eligible for PGA TOUR Champions. Mickelson returned to TPC River Highlands in 2019 after a 15-year absence… TPC River Highlands has been home to some low scoring in the past including Jim Furyk’s 58 (in 2016) and Patrick Cantlay’s 60 (in 2011, the low score in PGA TOUR history by an amateur). 72-HOLE RECORD: 258, Kenny Perry (2009). 18-HOLE RECORD: 58, Jim Furyk (4th round, 2016). LAST TIME: Chez Reavie won by four shots over Zack Sucher and Keegan Bradley to end an 11-year winless drought on TOUR. Sucher was the feel-good story all week after gaining entry into the event via the alternate list. He was on the path to recovery after a near career-ending injury and nearly doubled his career earnings after he tied for second. After a 5-under 65 Sunday, Vaughn Taylor moved into solo fourth, while Paul Casey, Kevin Tway, and Joaquin Niemann finished T5. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 6:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups), Saturday-Sunday 7:45 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (featured holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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