ERNIE ELS, MATT KUCHAR, RETIEF GOOSEN
COMMIT TO 2016 TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP
HARTFORD, Conn., July 22, 2016 – The Travelers Championship today announced that four-time major champion Ernie Els, along with Matt Kuchar and Retief Goosen, have committed to play in the 2016 tournament at TPC River Highlands.
“We’re excited about adding these three PGA TOUR winners to our field,” said Travelers Championship Tournament Director Nathan Grube. “The career accomplishments of Ernie, Matt and Retief speak for themselves, and our fans are thrilled to be welcoming them back.”
Ernie Els has established himself as one of golf’s most recognizable stars with 19 career victories on the PGA TOUR and 47 additional international wins. The 46-year-old from South Africa claimed major championships at the U.S. Open in 1994 and 1997, and at the Open Championship in 2002 and 2012. Els was inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame in 2011, and was the recipient of the PGA TOUR’s prestigious Payne Stewart Award in 2015. Els will be making his third appearance in the Travelers Championship.
Matt Kuchar has become one of the most consistent players on the PGA TOUR, finishing in the top 20 of the season-ending FedExCup standings six straight years. Kuchar, who is ranked No. 17 in the world, has seven TOUR victories, most recently the 2014 RBC Heritage. In 19 TOUR starts this season, Kuchar has eight top-10 finishes. A three-time member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team, Kuchar has played in the Travelers Championship eight previous times, with a T8 in 2012 being his best finish.
Two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen is returning to TPC River Highlands for the third time. He was T5 in 2010, and T51 in 2014. Goosen is best known for winning the U.S. Open twice, in 2001 over Mark Brooks in an 18-hole playoff, and in 2004 at Shinnecock Hills. Those are two of his seven TOUR wins, the most recent coming at the 2009 Valspar Championship. Goosen also has 24 international victories, including 14 on the European Tour, and has played in the Presidents Cup six times representing South Africa.
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. The tournament proudly supports the PGA 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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