HARTFORD, Conn., Feb. 10, 2012 - Travelers Championship officials today announced five early commitments to this year's tournament. Previous winners of the Travelers Championship -- Fredrik Jacobson, Bubba Watson and Hunter Mahan -- as well as Vijay Singh and Anthony Kim have officially committed to compete at TPC River Highlands, June 18 - 24.
"The commitment of these players sets the stage for another great field and outstanding competition in June," said Travelers Championship Tournament Director Nathan Grube. "Many of the PGA TOUR's top players have expressed their interest in playing the Travelers Championship and we look forward to announcing additional commitments to our field in the near future."
Fredrik Jacobson, who will make his fifth appearance at the Travelers Championship, looks to defend his 2011 title. After capturing his first career victory on the PGA TOUR at the Travelers Championship in 2011, he was able to continue his success throughout the rest of the year. At the end of last year, he finished third in the CIMB Asia Pacific Classic Malaysia followed by a runner-up finish at the WGC-HSBC Champions. Jacobson's victory at the 2011 Travelers Championship propelled him to his first ever appearance at the TOUR Championship by Coca-Cola and his best finish in the FedExCup and Money List Rankings at 29th and 26th respectively.
2010 champion Bubba Watson will make his sixth appearance at the Travelers Championship this June. After capturing his first career victory on the PGATOUR at the 2010 Travelers Championship, Watson added two wins in 2011 and helped the United States win the Presidents Cup in Australia. In his first three events to start 2012, Watson has earned three top-25 finishes, including a tie for fifth last week at the Waste Management Phoenix Open. He is currently 21st in the 2012 FedExCup regular season standings and 19th in the Official World Golf Rankings.
2007 champion Hunter Mahan is currently 21st in the Official World Golf Rankings and earned a tie for sixth in his 2012 PGA TOUR debut. Mahan had a strong season in 2011, which included a career best nine top-10 finishes and a seventh place finish in the final FedEx Cup standings. He also played in his third Presidents Cup for the United States and finished 4-1 to help secure the team victory. Mahan will be making his 11th appearance to TPC River Highlands this summer and currently holds the top spot for all-time money at the tournament with more than $2.3 million in earnings.
Vijay Singh will look to build on his past success at TPC River Highlands, as he will make his eighth appearance. The 48-year-old has 34 career victories on the PGA TOUR including three major championships, as well as winning the 2008 FedExCup.
Entering his sixth season on the PGA TOUR, Anthony Kim has three career victories, most recently at the 2010 Shell Houston Open. His best finish in2011 was a tie for fifth at The British Open, which was his third career top 10 in a major championship. Kim will be making his third trip to TPC River Highlands where his best finish was a T11 in 2009.
The Travelers Championship is the PGA TOUR's only early summer stop in the Northeast and will be held June 18 - 24, 2012, at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. Tournament tickets are on sale now at www.TravelersChampionship.com.
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About the Travelers Championship
As the only PGA TOUR event in the Northeast in early summer, the Travelers Championship is one of the region's premier sporting events. The tournament proudly supports the PGA TOUR Tradition of Giving Back by donating 100 percent of net proceeds to charities. The event is sponsored by Travelers, a leading provider of property casualty insurance for home, auto and business. Travelers has beendoing business in the community for more than 150 years, and today has morethan 7,000 employees in Connecticut. The Official Property Casualty Insurer of the PGA TOUR, Travelers has been a sponsor of this event each year since its inception in 1952, becoming title sponsor in 2007. Complete details are available on www.TravelersChampionship.com.