CROMWELL, Conn. — Nathan Grube, the event director of the Travelers Championship, applied to worry about the yrs when the U.S. Open took place on the West Coast.
Lots of of the world’s prime golfers would make a determination to acquire a break the 7 days next the significant or head to Europe to start preparing for the Open Championship, somewhat than travel throughout the region to participate in at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut.
But this yr, in reaction to LIV Golf, the Vacationers was elevated to one of 17 so-called “designated” PGA Tour gatherings, with a a great deal even bigger purse and a around mandate for leading golfers to participate in, providing the event the warranty of a powerful discipline.
Entire-subject tee instances from Vacationers Championship
“I can explain to you with sure assurance that I probably wouldn’t have been in this article even although I adore the match so considerably,” Masters winner Jon Rahm stated Tuesday. “With that mentioned, they’ve accomplished a great career creating players comfortable. Getting a constitution flight often makes it a whole lot a lot easier, probably not for the greatest two or a few players in the environment, but for other men and women that are significant top quality players as effectively that appear and compete in this celebration.”
This week’s match subject involves the prime 8 golfers in the globe rankings and 38 of the top 50.
Grube and his crew have gotten a reputation of pampering golfers in an hard work to get them to Connecticut, which includes managing all those free charter flights for players from the U.S. Open.
After in the point out, there are benefits like free laundry and haircuts for caddies, working day treatment on web-site, and day journeys for spouses and youngsters to amusement parks. This calendar year, the tournament additional a espresso and ice product bar and lounge on the driving selection.
Grube stated it was in part due to the fact of its participant-helpful standing that the Vacationers was preferred final drop to be amid the to start with gatherings to acquire elevated standing.
“We’ve been auditioning for this for 16 decades,” Grube reported, a reference to the size of time Tourists has been the event’s title sponsor. “And when it came time to go … We showed up.”
The selected position means the complete purse has enhanced from $8.3 to $20 million, with the winner taking home $3.6 million alternatively than the just underneath $1.5 million Xander Schauffele took house very last June.
The leading PGA Tour gamers are needed to participate in in 16 of the 17 designated activities.
“It nearly feels like we’re at the playoffs each and every time we’re at these elevated events,” Schauffele reported through the Traveler’s media day information meeting previous thirty day period. “Everybody’s demonstrating up, ready to go, the most effective players in the planet showing up each and every 7 days.”
13 of the 17 specified tournaments, like the four majors, have that status in perpetuity. The other four activities, such as the Vacationers, were initially expected to rotate from yr to 12 months.
Andy Bessette, the govt vice president and chief administrative officer for Vacationers, claimed the Connecticut match has been in talks to maintain its selected status for the foreseeable upcoming.
“I’ve been functioning on the settlement to preserve us elevated for 24, 25, 26, and I think we’re acquiring shut,” he stated Tuesday. “But I imagine with every little thing going on in the planet of golfing these days, we’ve acquired to be a minimal extra watchful to make absolutely sure we realize what it’s likely to glimpse like. So it’s a small tough appropriate now since the definitive agreement is heading to be accomplished by the close of the 12 months. And when which is carried out, then we have to see how it is heading to run.”
A single of the alternatives is that the Travelers could grow to be an party that characteristics only the prime 70 or so golfers in the world, with no slash, Bessette claimed.
But this tournament has develop into acknowledged for supplying younger golfers their to start with shot at actively playing a PGA Tour party. U.S. Open up winner Wyndham Clark made his debut in Connecticut in 2017 and 17 golfers have acquired their first PGA Tour get at the Vacationers, such as Stewart Cink (1997) and Bubba Watson (2010).
Patrick Cantlay, who designed his first large mark by taking pictures a 60 on this training course whilst still an amateur in 2011, reported he’s not apprehensive about younger golfers losing an option.
“I feel perhaps it could reduce a little something, but I imagine it gains a little something way too,” he claimed. “I imagine there’s authentic power to acquiring all the stars enjoy an function and have them below for all four times. I don’t assume there’ll be any variation on Tour. If you’re good sufficient to shoot the scores, you are likely to discover your way out below quicker rather than afterwards.”
