EIGHT ADDITIONAL PAST CHAMPIONS COMMIT TO 2018 TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP
HARTFORD, Conn., June 8, 2018 – The Travelers Championship today announced that eight more former tournament winners – Russell Knox, Kevin Streelman, Ken Duke, Marc Leishman, Freddie Jacobson, Stewart Cink, Hunter Mahan and J.J. Henry – have committed to play in 2018. Defending champion Jordan Spieth and two-time winner Bubba Watson had previously committed.
“These eight players are part of the Travelers Championship family,” said Travelers Championship Tournament Director Nathan Grube. “It’s always great for us and our fans to see our past champions, so we’re thrilled that so many have decided to come back and compete this year.”
Russell Knox scored a dramatic victory at the 2016 Travelers Championship, rolling in a 12-foot putt on the final hole to win by one stroke. It was his second career victory on the PGA TOUR; he won earlier in the 2015-16 season at the HSBC Champions in China. This season, Knox has three top-10 finishes in 20 starts.
Kevin Streelman set a PGA TOUR record during his victory at the 2014 Travelers Championship. He birdied the final seven holes – the most consecutive birdies to close a final round by any TOUR winner – to win by one shot. Streelman is a two-time PGA TOUR winner.
Ken Duke birdied the second playoff hole at TPC River Highlands to defeat Chris Stroud and win the 2013 Travelers Championship – his first victory in 187 starts on the PGA TOUR. Duke then made a $25,000 donation to the tournament’s charities.
Marc Leishman made the 2012 Travelers Championship his first win on the PGA TOUR by shooting a final-round 62 and winning by one stroke. Leishman, who won twice on TOUR in 2017, has two second-place finishes and six top-10s in his 15 starts this season. The Australia native is currently ranked 16th in the world.
Freddie Jacobson held off a host of challengers to win the 2011 Travelers Championship by one stroke with a 20-under-par total of 260 at TPC River Highlands for his first victory on the PGA TOUR. He then finished T8 the following year. Jacobson also owns three career wins on the European Tour.
Stewart Cink is one of seven players to win the tournament more than once. He triumphed at TPC River Highlands in 1997, then again in 2008. Cink is a six-time PGA TOUR winner, including the 2009 British Open, when he beat Tom Watson in a playoff at Turnberry. Cink was the recipient of the 2017 Payne Stewart Award.
Hunter Mahan earned the first of his six PGA TOUR victories at the Travelers Championship in 2007 when he opened with a 62, then beat Jay Williamson in a playoff. Mahan’s TOUR debut came at TPC River Highlands in 2000, when he was an 18-year-old amateur. Mahan has played in three Ryder Cups and four Presidents Cups.
J.J. Henry thrilled local fans when the Connecticut native earned his first PGA TOUR victory in 2006 at TPC River Highlands. He added wins at the Barracuda Championship in 2012 and 2015. This will be Henry’s 20th start at the Travelers Championship, where he made his TOUR debut in 1998 as an amateur.
These past champions join a player field that includes Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Paul Casey, Patrick Reed, Bryson DeChambeau, Charley Hoffman, Zach Johnson and Jim Furyk. The 2018 Travelers Championship will be held June 18-24, and tickets are available. For more information on this year’s tournament, visit www.TravelersChampionship.com.
About the Travelers Championship
The Travelers Championship, held in Cromwell, Connecticut, is one of the premier events on the PGA TOUR and part of the FedExCup series. Named by the PGA TOUR as the 2017 “Tournament of the Year,” the Travelers Championship proudly supports the TOUR’s Tradition of Giving Back by donating 100 percent of net proceeds to charities. Travelers, a leading provider of property and casualty insurance for home, auto and business, is the Official Property Casualty Insurance Provider of the PGA TOUR. The company became the tournament’s title sponsor in 2007. Travelers has been doing business in the Hartford community for more than 160 years and has been a corporate sponsor of this event each year since its inception in 1952. Complete details are available at www.TravelersChampionship.com.
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