The dust from the U.S. Open has settled, and the PGA Tour schedule heads across the country to TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut for the 2023 Travelers Championship. The tournament is the second-most attended PGA Tour event annually, trailing only behind the WM Phoenix Open. Tournament play for this designated event begins on Thursday, June 22nd, and ends on Sunday, June 25th.
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Xander Schauffele (+1400) is the defending champion after defeating J.T. Poston and Sahith Theegala by two shots last season. Schauffele carded a four-day total of 261 (19-under par) to pick up his first of two victories in 2022. Xander will be back in action this week to defend his title after a T10 finish at last week’s U.S. Open.
The Field is Packed with Star Power
Typically following a major tournament players take the next few weeks off to recover. Not this week, as the Travelers in one of the PGA Tour’s designated events. With that designation, the field is packed with many of the top players in the world.
Eight of the top ten players in the Official World Golf Rankings are expected to tee it up, along with U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark (+5500). Scottie Scheffler (+600), the world no. 1, headlines the list that includes Jon Rahm (+1100), Rory McIlroy (+1200), Patrick Cantlay (+1100), and Viktor Hovland (+1800).
Past champions of the Travelers in the field this week joining Schauffele are Harris English (2021), Chez Reavie (2019), Russell Knox (2016), Kevin Streelman (2014), and two-time winner Stewart Cink (2008, 1997).
Low Scores Await at TPC at River Highlands
Although the course is a par-70, TPC at River Highlands has historically surrendered low scores to the world’s best golfers over the years. The layout plays under 7,000 yards and the winning score is typically in the high teens under par.
The club was founded in 1928 as the Middletown Golf Club and then Edgewood Country Club in 1934. Eventually, in the 1980s, the course was purchased by the PGA Tour and became part of the Tournament Players Club network.
Pete Dye redesigned the course in 1984 and Bobby Weed, with the consultation of tour pros Howard Twitty and Roger Maltbie, further altered the layout in 1989.
Jim Furyk holds the course record after firing a 58 in the final round of the 2016 tournament. The score was the lowest in PGA Tour tournament history.
Can Scheffler Keep it Going?
Scottie Scheffler might be winning as many tournaments as he would like to, but the run of high finishes this season is reaching absurdity. Scheffler has finished five straight events inside the top five, including a string of four consecutive T3s or better.
This season, the 26-year-old has made the cut in 17 of 17 events he’s teed it up in and finished inside the top 25 in all but one of them. Scheffler has two wins on the year, securing a victory at the WM Phoenix Open and the PLAYERS Championship a month later.
The biggest hurdle for Scheffler to overcome has been his putter. The world no. 1 ranks first in every major statistical category on the PGA Tour but sits 138th amongst his peers in Strokes Gained: Putting.
