The field in the prestigious Signature Event ($20 million purse, $3.6 million first prize, no cut, top 70 players in world rankings) includes defending champion and top-ranked Scottie Scheffler, No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 3 and 2022 Travelers and 2024 Open Championship titlist Xander Schauffle, No. 4 Collin Morikawa, No. 5 Justin Thomas, No. 6 Ludwig Aberg, No. 7 Hideki Matsuyama, No. 8 Russell Henley, No. 11 Maverick McNealy, No. 12 Viktor Hovland, No. 15 Patrick Cantlay, No. 16, 2023 Travelers winner and U.S. Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley of Vermont, No. 20 Wyndham Clark, No. 36 Tony Finau, 2017 Travelers champion Jordan Spieth and popular Rickie Fowler.
Three international players ranked in the Top 14 in the world are also committed to the Travelers Championship. Sepp Straka, No. 9 in the Official World Golf Rankings, No. 12 Tommy Fleetwood, and No. 14 Shane Lowry join the already stellar field that will be at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell on June 19-22.
Last year, Scheffler notched eight PGA Tour victories, including the Masters, Players Championship, and Tour Championship, plus the Olympic gold medal and FedExCup, on the way to becoming a runaway Player of the Year and No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings. He was the first player since Tiger Woods in 2007 to record a seven-win season, and his total on-course earnings for the season were a staggering $62 million.
“At the end of the year, I was very grateful, very thankful,” Scheffler said via Zoom from his home in Dallas, Texas, during the Travelers Championship Media Day. “I had some pretty significant life experiences between Bennett being born (on May 8) and then all the golf tournaments as well. It was a lot of fun, but I didn’t feel any pressure to repeat this year. I was hoping to continue that trend on the golf course. “Life’s been good here at home. Bennett’s doing great. He’s healthy. He’s been doing well, and he’s been a lot of fun for (wife Meredith) and me.”
Scheffler made his 2025 debut as the two-time defending champion at The Players Championship, tying for 20th. Two weeks later, Scheffler finished second in the Houston Open, one stroke behind Min Woo Lee, and then was fourth in defense of his Masters title and eighth in the RBC Heritage. “The beginning of this year was strange in the sense that I couldn’t necessarily lean as much on the preparation because I had taken essentially a month off of golf due to kind of a silly injury,” Scheffler said. “So, did I put more pressure on myself? Not really. I think my expectations were even lower at times because I hadn’t been able to practice the way I normally would. My ball striking wasn’t as sharp as it was last year and the year before that. I continue to work on my swing, focusing on the basics that I do well and reinforcing those good habits. “I’ve had some good finishes recently and been close to the lead in some events, so I feel like I’m trending in the right direction.” Scheffler, 28, a native of Ridgewood, N.J., won the 2025 PGA Championship, marking his third major title, and he also secured victories at the CJ Cup and the Byron Nelson. He finished the PGA Championship with a score of 11 under par, winning by five strokes. He will zero in on the U.S. Open before defending in the Travelers Championship on June 19-22 at TPC River Highlands.
Connecticut’s biggest sporting event holds special meaning for Scheffler, as he turned 28 in the third round of the 2024 PGA Championship, and it was his first PGA Tour victory since his son, Bennett, was born on May 8. Ironically, he parred the first playoff hole to defeat close friend Tom Kim, whom he had a pizza party with earlier in the week. “When I think about the Travelers tournament in general, I think of how fun it is, how fun the week is for me and my family,” Scheffler said. “It’s a week in which the players and our families and our caddies get treated as good as we do all year. If you ask any caddie on Tour what’s his favorite event, it’s probably going to be the Travelers Championship. I think the tournament does an excellent job of making the week easy and fun for us and the whole family. We always get a great crowd, and it’s always a fun event to play. “The city and the town of Cromwell kind of rallies around the tournament, and it’s fun for us to get to play in front of such great crowds. When I think about last year’s tournament, I had a great week playing. I hit the shots when I needed to. I think on Saturday, I was starting to fall out of the tournament, but I birdied the last four holes to get myself into the last group. That was important to me at the time. Then, I was able to play well on Sunday and get myself into that playoff with Tom, one of my good buddies. We share a birthday, so it was fun competing with him down the stretch. It was even more fun to get the win and not have him have that over my head.” Coming off the usually tortuous U.S. Open, the Travelers event is “a relaxing week” for most of the best golfers in the world. In 2024, it helped Scheffler achieve 13 career PGA Tour victories, alongside 18 overall professional titles, and finish No. 1 on the money list for the third consecutive year, amassing nearly $72 million in purse earnings over five years on the PGA Tour.
For ticket information or tournament details, visit www.travelerschampionship.com.
