Marquee groupings and starting times (FedExCup standing) – 2012 Travelers Championship
Thursday, 12:44 p.m. ET No. 1 tee (Friday, 7:34 a.m. ET No. 10 tee)
Zach Johnson (4) – Kyle Stanley (16) – Fredrik Jacobson (94)
Thursday, 12:55 p.m. ET No. 1 tee (Friday, 7:45 a.m. ET No. 10 tee)
Webb Simpson (9) – Bubba Watson (5) – Keegan Bradley (24)
Friday, 12:44 p.m. ET No. 1 tee (Thursday, 7:34 a.m. ET No. 10 tee)
Matt Kuchar (7) – Hunter Mahan (2) – Johnson Wagner (13)
Friday, 12:55 p.m. ET No. 1 tee (Thursday, 7:45 a.m. ET No. 10 tee)
Louis Oosthuizen (33) – Padraig Harrington (62) – Justin Leonard (149)
U.S. Open champion Webb Simpson is joined by the last two major champions, Bubba Watson (Masters Tournament) and Keegan Bradley (PGA Championship) in one of the marquee groups this week at the Travelers Championship field. Simpson played his second event as a professional at the 2008 Travelers Championship (T37).
Four players that finished inside the top 10 at the U.S. Open are in this week’s Travelers Championship field: Webb Simpson (1); Michael Thompson (T2), John Peterson (T4) and Padraig Harrington (T4). Peterson, the 2011 NCAA champion from LSU, is a non-member that earned his entry into the Travelers Championship via his top-10 finish last week.
The top two TOUR members, not previously eligible, from a cumulative money list taken from THE PLAYERS and five TOUR events (THE PLAYERS, FedEx St. Jude Classic, U.S. Open, Travelers Championship, AT&T National and The Greenbrier Classic), will gain entry into the 2012 British Open. Last year, Travelers Championship winner Fredrik Jacobson ($1,260,264) and FedEx St. Jude Classic champion Harrison Frazar ($1,058,436) gained entry into the British Open. Below are the current standings through the U.S. Open:
Rank Player Earnings
1 Michael Thompson $718,412
2 John Merrick $604,800
3 Jhonattan Vegas $296,083
4 Blake Adams $285,848
T5 Nick O’Hern $268,800
T5 Ryan Palmer $268,800
Additionally, the leading player not otherwise exempt, among the top five finishers and ties at both The Greenbrier Classic and John Deere Classic will receive exemptions into British Open. Ties will be determined by the highest-ranking player in Official World Golf ranking at the commencement of the tournament.
The last 15 major championships have been won by 15 different players:
Year Winner Major
2012 Webb Simpson U.S. Open
2012 Bubba Watson Masters
2011 Keegan Bradley PGA
2011 Darren Clarke British Open
2011 Rory McIlroy U.S. Open
2011 Charl Schwartzel Masters
2010 Martin Kaymer PGA
2010 Louis Oosthuizen British Open
2010 Graeme McDowell U.S. Open
2010 Phil Mickelson Masters
2009 Y.E. Yang PGA
2009 Stewart Cink British Open
2009 Lucas Glover U.S. Open
2009 Angel Cabrera Masters
2008 Padraig Harrington PGA
Sweden’s Fredrik Jacobson became the first international winner of the Travelers Championship last year since Greg Norman in 1995. Jacobson became the seventh native of Sweden to win on the PGA TOUR, joining Jesper Parnevik, Daniel Chopra, Gabriel Hjertstedt, Carl Pettersson, Richard S. Johnson andHenrik Stenson.
Jason Dufner finished T4 at the U.S. Open to earn his TOUR-leading sixth top-10 finish of 2012. The two-time winner (Zurich Classic of New Orleans and HP Byron Nelson Championship) has led the FedExCup standings for the last five weeks.
CHAMPIONS TOUR
Pacific Links Hawaii announced that Hawaii Golf Hall of Fame member David Ishii received an invitation to play in the inaugural Pacific Links Hawaii Championship, Sept. 14-16 at Kapolei Golf Course. Ishii, who won the 1990 Hawaiian Open for his lone PGA TOUR title, has competed in 21 Champions Tour events.
This week’s Montreal Championship, in its third year, will have a new venue. After two years at Club de Golf Fontainebleau, the tournament will be played at La Vallee du Richelieu Golf Club (Vercheres Course), June 18-24. The Champions Tour played the 1999 AT&T Canada Senior Open Championship at the site, but it was contested on the Rouville Course. Jim Ahern won that tournament in a two-hole playoff with Hale Irwin.
Defending champion John Cook is no stranger to defending a title on the Champions Tour. Cook has done it twice, defending his 2007 AT&T Championship in San Antonio a year later and then claiming a second consecutive Charles Schwab Cup Championship in 2010. In addition to his Montreal Championship title in 2011, he was also second to Larry Mize in 2010 and has posted six straight rounds in the 60s.
The Champions Tour currently has two full-time native Canadians on Tour—Rod Spittle and Jim Rutledge. Spittle has a pair of T9 finishes to his credit this year (The ACE Group Classic and the Insperity Championship). Rutledge is currently 50th on the money list, with $105,558. His best showing to date is a T13 at the Insperity Championship. Spittle was T7 in this tournament last year, while Rutledge finished T35 in 2011 and T38 in 2010.
Chien Soon Lu finished T2 at the recent Regions Tradition, matching his career-best result on the Champions Tour. The runner-up finish allowed Lu to jump 21 spots from 32nd to 11th on the Charles Schwab Cup standings. Lu has made it to the season-ending, 30-man Charles Schwab Cup Championship the past two years and is currently in 21st position on the 2012 money list.
Hal Sutton makes an eagle every 75 holes and leads Kenny Perry, who is second in this category with an eagle every 93 holes he plays. The Champions Tour average is one eagle per every 250 holes.
NATIONWIDE TOUR
Congratulations to former Nationwide Tour player Webb Simpson on winning the 112th U.S. Open. It was the 16th major title won by a Tour alumnus and 333rd TOUR title overall. The Wake Forest graduate played the Nationwide Tour in 2008, posting runner-up finishes in Springfield, Mo. and Chattanooga, Tenn.
Nationwide Tour alumni have won the last three majors - Keegan Bradley (PGA), Bubba Watson (Masters) and Webb Simpson (U.S. Open).
This week's Preferred Health Systems Wichita (Kan.) Open is the first of six tournaments in seven weeks in the Midwest, with Utah being the exception.
Friday is Epilepsy Awareness Day at the Wichita tournament. The Day is being conducted in support of popular 2003 PHSWO winner Jeff Klauk, who is dealing with epilepsy. Purple ribbons will be distributed to everyone at Crestview CC, with all being encouraged to wear purple.
Five-time NASCAR Sprint Cup winner Clint Bowyer will play in Wednesday's pro-am this week as a guest of Hawker Beechcraft. Bowyer is a native of Emporia, KS.
Woody Austin, who lives in the Wichita suburb of Derby, is in this week's field for the second year in a row.
