Hello, Hartford. 

Following the U.S. Open, the PGA Tour makes its annual stop in Connecticut for the Travelers Championship, a staple on the circuit since 1952. It’s the last signature event of the season, boasting a $20 million purse with $3,600,000 and 700 FedExCup points going to the winner. The field will only be 72 players, and there won’t be a 36-hole cut. 

From its field, course, history, tee times and how to watch, here’s everything you need to know for the 2025 Travelers Championship. 

The field 

Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy, the top two players in the world ranking, highlight the field.

Scheffler is the defending champion, defeating Tom Kim in a playoff after a protest interrupted play on the 72nd hole. 

In total, every eligible player from the top 22 in the world is in the field—including last week’s U.S. Open champion, J.J. Spaun. 

There are five past champions in the field: Jordan Spieth (2017), Harris English (2021), Xander Schauffele (2022), Keegan Bradley (2023) and Scheffler.

Sponsor exemptions include Luke Clanton, making his second start since turning pro, Rickie Fowler, Gary Woodland and Kim. 

Matti Schmid, Kevin Yu, Bud Cauley, Mackenzie Hughes and Harry Hall played their way into the field via the Aon Swing 5. 

Even before the Travelers became a signature event in 2023, it always attracted a loaded field, despite being the week after the U.S. Open since 2007 (the first year of Travelers’s title sponsorship). 

How?

“All these reasons we kept hearing, (Travelers executive vice president) Andy [Bessette] and I were like, ‘I actually think we can do something about that,’” tournament director Nathan Grube said in 2022. “So we started—I mean, it wasn’t one thing, it was 50 little things. But one of the big things we started with is that people always say, ‘Hey, the week after the [U.S.] Open, the guys are tired.’ So let’s make it as easy as possible to get here.”

That includes free, non-stop charter flights out of a private airport near the U.S. Open’s location for its players, caddies and their families. Then, when everyone lands, they are greeted with courtesy cars and gift packs for any children who made the trip.

The course 

“It’s a golf course that can produce a lot of drama.”

That’s McIlroy describing TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., the Travelers Championship’s home since 1984. 

The course is a 6,844-yard, par-70, the shortest on Tour so far this season. It has an average green size of 5,000 square feet with 68 bunkers, 110 acres of rough, 28 acres of fairway and water in play on five holes. 

In 2024, TPC River Highlands was the ninth easiest course on Tour, yielding a scoring average of 67.629 (2.371 under par).

Its hardest hole was the par-3 16th, which played +0.043 over par last year, and was the Tour’s 334th most difficult hole out of 900. Its easiest hole was the par-5 13th, playing 0.450 strokes under par. 

The tournament, however, is often decided on the final four holes. 

“With the way (holes) 15, 16, 17 are, and then … I think like just a nice like classic uphill par-4 like this one has,” Scottie Scheffler said in 2022, “where if you hit a good drive you’re going to be rewarded and maybe make a birdie, and if you get into trouble, you could make a bogey, but it’s not necessarily like a crazy hard hole or a crazy easy hole. It's just a simple hole to finish. You see exciting finishes on stuff like that.”

With the Travelers being the second-most attended tournament of the year, behind the WM Phoenix Open, the bubble surrounding the 18th green creates a euphoric atmosphere—and is intensified during big moments, like when Spieth holed out from the bunker in 2017 to win. 

“The city of Hartford, seems like everybody in the whole town is out here on 18 and it’s an incredible experience,” English said in 2022. “It’s a great setting for finishing a golf tournament.”

The most consequential hole, though, is the driveable, 297-yard par-4 15th, which has water left of the green that can penalize a pulled tee shot (for righties). 

“I think 15 is one of the best short par-4s we have in golf,” English said. 

History: Shark out of water 

Greg Norman won the 1995 Greater Hartford Open. A year later, he disqualified himself. 

Why? Because he was using a mislabeled ball. 

Under the USGA conforming-ball rule, the stamping on his Maxfli ball, which he was experimenting with that week in Hartford, should have said “XS-90.” Instead, it was stamped “XS-9.” Therefore, under Rule 5, the ball he was using was not on the conforming list, “even though it is an identical golf ball to the one that has been approved,” Norman said. 

The Aussie was five strokes behind the 36-hole leader, Kevin Sutherland, when he disqualified himself.

“The ball that I used is a legal golf ball,” Norman said. “It’s been approved by the USGA, but the difference is, there is a different stamping on my golf ball.”

After Friday’s round, Norman’s wife phoned her husband, saying somebody from Maxfli called their home to reveal the ball he was using had the incorrect stamp. 

Norman immediately reached out to Ben Nelson, the Hartford Open’s tournament director. Nelson then contacted Frank Thomas, a USGA official, who confirmed the ball wasn’t legal. 

“It doesn’t mean that it was an illegal ball,” Nelson said, according to the New York Times, “but that it was not on the list. And penalty for the use of a brand not on the list is disqualification.”

Only in golf. 

“I don’t think you’ll see that in other sports,” Tom Kite said. “People set those standards long before us, and it’s expected of us.” 

How to watch (all times EST)

  • Thursday: 3–6 p.m., Golf Channel
  • Friday: 3–6 p.m., Golf Channel
  • Saturday: 1–3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3–6:30 p.m., CBS
  • Sunday: 1–3 p.m., Golf Channel; 3–6:30 p.m., CBS

ESPN+ will also have featured coverage during each round. 

Round 1 and 2 tee times 


This article was originally published on www.si.com as Travelers Championship Preview: Field, Course, History, Tee Times, How to Watch.

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