Arguably the man who wrote the greatest shot in the history of the Travelers Championship was a late Friday addition to the field.
Jordan Spieth, who won the 2017 Travelers’ Championship thanks to a hole-in-the-flying shot in a sudden-death playoff, committed to this year’s championship shortly after completing his second round at the US Open.
Travelers Tournament Director Nathan Groppi said he got a call from Jay Danzi, Speth’s agent, around 7 p.m.
“He said, ‘Hey, we’re coming in,’” said Danzi. Groppi said he had spoken with Spieth’s group for the past six weeks about returning to play TPC River Highlands in Cromwell.
Players who compete have a short time after completing their second round to enter the following week’s tournament if they have not already done so.
According to media reports, Danzi told reporters at the US Open, which is being held at the Country Club in Brooklyn, Massachusetts, that Spieth had stomach problems. Spieth made a cut on opening.
Speth is ranked 10th in the world, giving travelers six of the top 10 in the world rankings. Four of the top five golfers in the current world rankings are already committed.
Top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, Masters champion, third seed Rory McIlroy, who won last week’s Canadian Open, and No. 4 and No. 5 seed Patrick Cantley, PGA champion Justin Thomas, are competing. US Open Championship.
“When I look at it, the efficacy of our PGA Tour is as strong as ever and is one of the strongest areas ever,” said Nathan Grob, Travelers Championship Director.
“Four out of the top five in the world, that’s pretty good,” said Andy Bisset, executive vice president and senior managing director at Travelers.
The only other player in the top ten on the field is Sam Burns, who finished ninth. Eighth-placed Victor Hovland, who had committed earlier this week, is no longer on the field.
Also among the contenders next week are 12th seed Zander Shaveli, 14th seed Will Zlatoris, 15th seed, Tony Fino, 17th seed Joaquin Niemann, and 18th seed Brooks Koepka. No. 20 Abby Anser was on the court, but withdrew after he also withdrew from the US Open ahead of Thursday’s opening round due to illness.
Groppi said both Ricky Fowler and Jason Day also made the commitment in the last 24 hours before the deadline. Finally, travelers have half of the top 50 in this field.
Previously announced commitments and now playing in LIV Golf Series have been withdrawn before Friday. 16, Dustin Johnson, 2020 Travelers champ, withdrew his PGA Tour membership before being suspended by PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Fishman; Bryson DeChambeau, who was competing in his first LIV event next week, withdrew earlier in the week.
Ben James of Milford, the No. 1 junior in the United States, received one of four sponsor exemptions. He joins James Chris Gotrop, Cole Hammer and Michael Thorbjornsen.
The last four players on the field will be determined after Monday’s playoffs at Ellington Ridge Country Club.
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