Connecticut Contingent Set to Compete at Travelers Championship

CROMWELL, CT — After a seven-man playoff in a qualifying tournament for the remaining two spots in this week's PGA Tour event, the 156-player field for the Travelers Championship has been finalized, containing five golfers with Connecticut ties, seven past champions and 14 major championship winners.

Reigning Connecticut Amateur champion Zach Zaback, a Farmington resident and recent UConn graduate, was one of the seven players who shot 5-under par 67 at Ellington Ridge Country Club. However, he came up short in the playoff, which saw a pair of PGA Tour professionals from Australia, Stuart Appleby and Cameron Percy, advance to the Travelers, alongside medalist Derek Gillespie of Canada (64) and PGA Tour member Luke Guthrie (66).

Connecticut's representatives in the tournament are:

• J.J. Henry (Fairfield High School)
• Jerry Kelly (University of Hartford)
• Tim Petrovic (Glastonbury High School, University of Hartford)
• Adam Rainaud (assistant pro at Black Hall Club in Old Lyme)
• Brett Stegmaier (Madison native, former Hamden resident, former member of New Haven Country Club, former assistant pro at Silver Springs Country Club in Ridgefield)

Defending champion Bubba Watson, who also won his first PGA Tour event in Cromwell in 2010, returns to take a swing at capturing his third Travelers title. Other past champions in the field are:

• Kevin Streelman, 2014
• Ken Duke, 2013
• Marc Leishman, 2012
• Freddie Jacobson, 2011
• Hunter Mahan, 2007
• J.J. Henry, 2006

Fifteen major championship winners, with a combined 26 victories in majors, will be traversing the fairways at TPC River Highlands. They are:

• Keegan Bradley (2011 PGA)
• Angel Cabrera (2007 U.S. Open, 2009 Masters)
• Ernie Els (1994 and 1997 U.S. Open, 2002 and 2012 British Open)
• Jim Furyk (2003 U.S. Open)
• Lucas Glover (2009 U.S. Open)
• Retief Goosen (2001 and 2004 U.S. Open)
• Padraig Harrington (2007 and 2008 British Open, 2008 PGA)
• Zach Johnson (2007 Masters, 2015 British Open)
• Justin Leonard (1997 British Open)
• Geoff Ogilvy (2006 U.S. Open)
• Louis Oosthuizen (2010 British Open)
• Webb Simpson (2012 U.S. Open)
• Vijay Singh (1998 and 2004 PGA, 2000 Masters)
• David Toms (2001 PGA)
• Bubba Watson (2012 and 2014 Masters)

The Travelers Championship Celebrity Pro-Am tees off Wednesday at 6:50 a.m.; four days of tournament competition open Thursday. The winner will earn $1.188 million from the total purse of $6.6 million.

Photo of Adam Rainaud courtesy of northernjr.com