Travelers Championship Notes 2015

2015 Travelers Championship tournament notes
Dates: June 22–28, 2015
Where: TPC River Highlands, Cromwell, Conn.
Par/Yards: 35-35–70/6,841 yards
Field: 156
2014 champion: Kevin Streelman
Purse: $6,400,000/$1,152,000 (winner)
FedExCup: 500 points to the winner
Format: 72-hole stroke play
Website: www.travelerschampionship.com
Facebook: travelerschampionship
Twitter: @TravelersChamp
A look at the 2014 Travelers Championship

• Coming off four straight missed cuts (THE PLAYERS Championship, the Memorial, FedEx St. Jude Classic and U.S. Open), Kevin Streelman birdied his last seven holes en route to a second consecutive, 6-under 64. His seven birdies to finish and win set the PGA TOUR record, supplanting Mike Souchak’s previous record of six straight from the 1956 St. Paul Open.
• Streelman posted a 7-under 28 on the back nine in the final round, matching the back-nine record at TPC River Highlands since 1990. Charley Hoffman achieved the feat in round one in 2013, as did Vijay Singh in the final round in 1998.
• Streelman needed just one putt per hole on the inward nine, combining with 15 on the front for a total of 24.
• In the fourth-to-last group, Streelman putted out at 5:18 p.m. ET. The final putt dropped at 5:50 p.m.
• Streelman began the final round four strokes off the lead at 9-under-par.
• Streelman was making his seventh, consecutive start at the Travelers Championship in 2014; 2013/MC, 2012/T47, 2011/T6, 2010/T42, 2009/T51, 2008/T10.
• Streelman earned his second career PGA TOUR victory at the age of 35 years, 7 months and 18 days in his 187th career start on the PGA TOUR. His first win came at the 2013 Valspar Championship.

A glance at the field:

• Seven players who finished inside the top 15 at the U.S. Open: Louis Oosthuizen (T2); Branden Grace (T4); Cameron Smith (T4); Brandt Snedeker (8); Tiny Finau (T14); Patrick Reed (T14); Andres Romero (T14).
• Nine of the top 30 in the current FedExCup standings: Patrick Reed (No.5); Brandt Snedeker (No. 8); Bubba Watson (No. 12); Steven Bowditch (No.18); Sangmoon Bae (No. 23); Gary Woodland (No. 24); Kevin Na (No. 25); Russell Knox (No. 28); David Lingmerth (No. 30).
• Thirteen major championship winners accounting for 22 majors.
• Seven past champions of the Travelers Championship: Kevin Streelman (2014); Ken Duke (2013); Marc Leishman (2012); Bubba Watson (2010); Stewart Cink (2008, 1997); Hunter Mahan (2007); and J.J. Henry (2006).

Player Notes

• Bubba Watson will make his ninth start at the Travelers Championship where he earned his first TOUR title in 2010 and recorded three additional top 10s (2013/4th , 2012/T2, 2008/T6).
  • The highest-ranked player in the field, Watson has made nine starts this season highlighted by a win at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, a T2 finish at the Waste Management Phoenix Open and a thirdplace showing at the World Golf Championships-Cadillac Championship.
• Sergio Garcia will make his fourth appearance at the Travelers Championship, where he finished T2 in 2014. Out of 12 rounds at TPC River Highlands, Garcia has 10 rounds in the 60s. In 10 starts this season on TOUR, he has three top-four finishes, including a playoff loss at THE PLAYERS Championship.
• Patrick Reed will look for his first top 10 at the Travelers Championship in his fourth start at TPC River Highlands: 2014/MC, 2013/T18, 2012/T47. Reed has one win and two additional top 10s in 18 starts this season. He finished T14 at the U.S. Open last week.
• Reigning FedExCup champion Billy Horschel will make his 21st start of the season, which has included seven top 25s, highlighted by a third-place finish at the Valero Texas Open and T8 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic.
  • He finished T25 at last week’s U.S. Open on the strength of a final-round 67. This marks Horschel’s third start at the Travelers Championship, and first time since 2012 when he finished T24.
• Patrick Rodgers, who made his professional debut at the 2014 Travelers Championship (T45), will return to TPC River Highlands for the third time (he missed the cut in 2012 as an amateur). Rodgers is playing on Special Temporary Membership, allowing him to accept unlimited sponsor exemptions for the remainder of the 2014-15 PGA TOUR season in his attempt to earn his 2015-16 TOUR card.
  • Rodgers also sits at No. 9 on the current Web.com Tour money list after a win earlier this season at the Colombia Championship Presented by Claro.
• Morgan Hoffmann made his professional debut at the 2011 Travelers Championship and will return for the fourth time.
  • His best finish was T9 in 2013. In 18 starts this season, Hoffmann has recorded two top 10s, including a fourth-place finish at the Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by MasterCard and a T9 showing at the RBC Heritage.
  • He posted a 66 during the final round of the U.S. Open last week, en route to a T27 finish, his career-best at a major championship thus far.

Young stars at Travelers Championship

• The Travelers Championship will continue its ongoing commitment to bring top young players to Connecticut each year.
• Since 2007, top players like Webb Simpson, Rickie Fowler, Ryo Ishikawa, Kyle Stanley, Morgan Hoffmann, Patrick Cantlay, Patrick Rodgers and more have been granted exemptions by the tournament and made their professional debut in Hartford.
• This year, University of Georgia’s Lee McCoy and Arizona State University’s Jon Rahm will play as sponsor exemptions.
• Lee McCoy made his U.S. Open debut last week.
• The UGA junior won four events this season, and helped lead the Bulldogs to the semifinals of the NCAA Championship.
• Jon Rahm, a junior at ASU, made his PGA TOUR start earlier this season at the Waste Management Phoenix Open, where he became the first amateur to finish in the top five of a PGA TOUR event since Chris Wood finished fifth at the 2008 Open Championship.

Miscellaneous Travelers Championship Notes

• Six of the last nine winners of the Travelers Championship have been first-time TOUR champions: J.J. Henry (2006), Hunter Mahan (2007), Bubba Watson (2010), Fredrik Jacobson (2011), Marc Leishman (2012) and Ken Duke (2013).
• A total of 17 players have picked up their first TOUR win at the Travelers Championship: Ken Duke (2013), Marc Leishman (2012), Fredrik Jacobson (2011), Bubba Watson (2010), Hunter Mahan (2007), J.J. Henry (2006), Brent Geiberger (1999), Olin Browne (1998), Stewart Cink (1997), Billy Ray Brown (1991), Mark Brooks (1988), Mac O’Grady (1986), Phil Blackmar (1985), Tim Norris (1982), Don Bies (1975), Charles Sifford (1967) and Bob Toski (1953).
• Five of the past 11 outcomes at TPC River Highlands have been decided through a playoff (2013-Ken Duke, 2010-Bubba Watson, 2007-Hunter Mahan, 2005-Brad Faxon, 2004-Woody Austin).
• Past champions include Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Phil Mickelson and Greg Norman.
• Patrick Cantlay’s 60 in the second round in 2011 as an amateur set the TPC River Highlands course record and equaled the Travelers Championship low 18-hole score (Tommy Bolt, 1954, Wethersfield CC).
• Prior to Cantlay’s 60 in 2011, the course record at TPC River Highlands was 61, shared by Kirk Triplett (R3, 2000), Phil Mickelson (R3, 2001), Scott Verplank (R4, 2001), Brad Faxon (R4, 2005) and Kenny Perry (R1, 2009).
• Only two players have won the tournament in wire-to-wire fashion – Gene Littler in 1959 and Tim Norris in 1982. A total of 10 players have won the tournament after holding at least a share of the lead after each round.
• The best opening 36-hole score at the Travelers Championship was set by Justin Rose in 2010 (126, finished T9).
• The best opening 54-hole score at the Travelers Championship is a 193 held by Tim Norris (1982/1st) and Mark Calcavecchia (2000/2nd).
• The best 72-hole score at the Travelers Championship is 258 held by Kenny Perry (2009).

Travelers Championship and Charity

• The Travelers Championship is proud to be a PGA TOUR event, which donates 100 percent of net proceeds to charity every year.
• Since 1952, the tournament has generated more than $32 million for charity and in 2014, the Travelers Championship generated $1.558 million for more than 140 charities throughout the region.
• One of the tournament’s primary beneficiaries is The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, a residential summer camp and yearround center designed to serve children and families coping with cancer and other serious illnesses. It was founded in 1988 by the late Paul Newman.

Honorary Co-Chairs

• In 2015, four young people, who have shown outstanding leadership and innovation in supporting charitable causes, have been selected to serve as the Honorary Co-Chairs for the Travelers Championship. Below are their remarkable stories:
  • Chase Skrubis – Klubs for Kids Fifteen-year-old Chase Skrubis of Granby, Connecticut, has been a participant with The First Tee of Connecticut for seven years. When he recognized that some kids could not participate because they lacked golf clubs, Chase started Klubs for Kids through which he refurbishes golf club sets for young people to use. With the support of local individuals and golf shops who donate clubs and through the generosity of Golf Pride, who annually donates several hundred grips, more than 85 full sets of clubs have been refurbished and donated through Chase’s program. This year Chase initiated the Klubs for Kids Scholarship Fund, where he accepts donations for the sets of clubs he puts together and then donates 100 percent of the funds to The First Tee of Connecticut to provide additional scholarship opportunities for their programs.
  • Mackenzie Page – The Great Pumpkin Challenge When Mackenzie Page learned about her friend Zoe’s brain cancer diagnosis, she wanted to do something that would help Zoe and other children facing difficult medical challenges, so Mackenzie created the Great Pumpkin Challenge to help raise money for the Hole in the Wall Gang Camp. So far, Mackenzie and The Great Pumpkin Challenge have raised nearly $10,000 and helped boost awareness of the amazing work that The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp does.
  • Brittany Vose – Lustgarten Foundation 18-Hole Stroll After losing her father to pancreatic cancer, Brittany Vose started the 18-Hole Stroll to raise money for research against the deadly disease. For $50, participants can walk around the course at 7:30 a.m. before play starts for the final round of competition, get breakfast and a ticket to the tournament, and participate in a silent auction. So far, Vose and the 18-Hole Stroll has raised more than $100,000 for the Lustgarten Foundation of New York, which funds pancreatic cancer research.
  • Ben Goldman – Ben Goldman’s Charity Corner In 2012, while still in high school, Ben Goldman of Wethersfield, Connecticut, launched his own TV program on FOX-CT. Ben Goldman’s Charity Corner profiles and brings awareness to charity events and organizations around Connecticut. It all began at age 8 when he was diagnosed with brain cancer and learned firsthand how charities can positively affect people’s lives. Now 18 years old, Ben volunteers for Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, where he received treatment, and The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, in which he participated as a camper, and serves on the Advisory Board of Hartford’s Camp Courant, while attending the University of Connecticut in pursuit of a career in broadcasting.

SOURCE: PGA TOUR