CROMWELL — Fresh off his victory at the U.S. Open, J.J. Spaun is making his way to Connecticut and has a date with the No.1 player in the world, Scottie Scheffler.
“JJ and I communicated with and he’ll be here in full force on the course (Wednesday),” said Andy Bessette, executive VP and chief administrative officer at Travelers. “And he’s all excited about being here.”
Travelers Championship tee times: Defending champ Scottie Scheffler paired with U.S. Open champ JJ Spaun
Spaun, 34, survived the challenges of the Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania amid rainy conditions over the weekend for his first major victory. He will tee off with Scheffler, the two-time Masters champ and reigning PGA champ, for the first round of the Travelers Championship Thursday at TPC River Highlands at 1:45 p.m. Thursday. Scheffler is back to defend his 2024 Travelers title.
Spaun will be playing the TPC for the fifth time since 2020. He has missed the cut in three of his four previous appearances but has never arrived in Cromwell like he does this time around.
The Travelers, a PGA Tour Signature Event, has a $20 million purse, with roughly $3.6 million for the winner. It has drawn 45 of the top 50 golfers in the world to Connecticut, including each of the last four winners of the major tournaments. Rory McIlroy, who completed a career grand slam by winning the Masters in April, will tee off at 10:35 a.m. with Keegan Bradley, 2023 Travelers champ and captain for the U.S. Ryder Cup team.
Xander Schauffele, another former Travelers winner and current camp of The Open, tees off with Collin Morikawa at 1:35 p.m.
“We’re going to have four days of great competition, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday,” Bessette said.
The weather is expected to be hot, approaching 90 degrees, and humid each of the four days, a stark contrast to the cooler-than-usual, wet conditions in Connecticut the last few days.
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Spaun started the final round at Oakmont on Sunday with five bogeys over the first six holes, falling four strokes off the pace, then he came on strong on the back nine to take the lead and made a 64-foot putt for birdie on 18 to clinch his first major. Later, Spaun revealed that fellow golfer Max Homa had relayed a story he’d heard from Tiger Woods, that the key to winning on the challenging courses of the U.S. Open was not to panic and change anything when you hit a rough stretch.
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“Even if you’re four back, you’ve just got to stay there,” Spaun told reporters at Oakmont. “You don’t have to do anything crazy.’”
Accounted for: As of Tuesday, there were no late withdrawals from the 72-player Travelers field. Billy Horschel, ranked 26th, who had hip surgery, had to pass up the tournament this year and sent a note to Bessette. Justin Rose, No. 23, had to pass on the Travelers due to a commitment in London, Bessette said. Outside of those two and the top players who are with LIVGolf and not eligible for PGA events, notably Bryson DeChambeau, the rest of the top players are in Cromwell.
Azzi Fudd, Ashlynn Shade coming Thursday: The national champion UConn women’s basketball team will be well represented at the Travelers’ Signature Women’s Day Breakfast Thursday morning. Azzi Fudd, Ashlynn Shade and associate head coach Chris Dailey are expected to attend the sold-out event at 8 a.m. NBC Today Show host Hoda Kotb and Broadway star Mary Kate Morrissey are the headliners.
Pro-Am: Morrissey is expected to play in the Pro-Am on Wednesday, with the participants and tee times expected later Tuesday. Hall of Fame UConn coach Jim Calhoun and hockey coach Mike Cavanaugh said this week they plan to play.
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