The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Day will play in this year’s Travelers tournament
Three players from top 10 committed to play tournament
The good news just keeps on coming in what is shaping up to be the best field the Travelers Championship has ever had.
Jason Day is the latest big name to commit to playing in the Travelers Championship in June. Day, the former PGA Championship winner, is ranked No. 3 in the world rankings.
Nathan Grube, the Travelers Championship tournament director, said Day’s commitment came “around lunch time” on Wednesday.
“We knew it was coming. We’ve had really good conversations with Jason,” Grube said Thursday morning.
That now makes three players from the top 10 in the latest world rankings in the field: Rory McIlroy at No. 2, Day at No. 3 and Justin Thomas at No. 10.
Day, who spent a lot of weeks last year ranked No. 1, won the PGA Championship back in 2015. He’s played the TPC River Highlands course in Cromwell twice, finishing tied for 18th in 2014 and tied for 27th in 2008.
Two years ago, Day withdrew from playing the Travelers after suffering from vertigo at the U.S. Open the weekend before the tournament. Day went to his knees during the second round and went on to finish tied for ninth.
Grube said he was standing next to Andy Bessette, the executive vice president and chief administrative office for Travelers, when he got the call from Day himself saying he had to withdraw.
“He called Andy the Monday morning after the Open,” Grube said. “Andy answered and Jason said, ‘I’m so sorry I have to do this.’ It’s extremely rare for a player to call someone personally (to an-
nounce a withdrawal), but that’s the kind of guy Jason is and we are thrilled to have him back.”
Day will be defending his title at the Players Championship next week. He has just one top-10 finish this season, a tie for fifth at the AT&T Pebble Beach ProAm.
Grube said the tournament is “pacing ahead on corporate sales, ticket sales and charity fund-raising” from last year. The early announcement on McIlroy in February assuredly has helped with this.
“I think we will have some more commitments that the fans will be really excited about,” Grube said.
Visit travelerschampionship.com to purchase tickets to this year’s event, which will be held June 2225.