2022 Travelers Championship – TPC River Highlands Course Preview

After a scintillating U.S. Open with Matt Fitzpatrick winning his first major and first ever PGA event, the Tour heads back to familiar territory for the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. One of the most favored tournaments by players and caddies, the event attracts a strong field each year, and its huge crowds make it the second-most attended Tour event behind only the Waste Management Open.

TPC River Highlands is a classical par-70 Pete Dye design where shot-shaping is almost required and where players are encouraged to get creative and utilize every club in their bag. It is a tree-lined parkland course with lush wide fairways and plenty of subtle changes in direction. The average winning score over the past 12 events has been 15-under par and has favored players who get hot with their putter and have a sharp short iron and wedge game.

Thanks to its tremendous finishing stretch of holes, it also almost always seems to deliver a climactic ending. 14 of the last 18 events have been decided by one shot or less with five of the past 11 finishing in a playoff. Many fans can still remember last year’s marathon Sunday that saw Harris English outlasting Kramer Hickok after eight playoff holes.

The Field

Plenty of stars show up to play this event on an annual basis, and this year is no different. Six of the world’s top 10 are scheduled to tee it up in Connecticut, led by top-ranked Scottie Scheffler. Joining him is a strong group of favorites including Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Patrick Cantlay, Sam Burns, Will Zalatoris and Xander Schauffele. Finally healthy after missing a couple of months with an injury, Harris English returns to defend his title. After a higher cut-line last week at the U.S. Open, it returns to the usual top-65 and ties this week.

Course History

Designed in 1928 by Robert Ross and Maurice Kearney, the club was originally known as Middletown Golf Club and became one of the most popular courses in Connecticut. By the early 1980s, it was bought by the PGA Tour which hired famed architect Pete Dye to completely redesign the course to fit professional tournament standards. In 1984, the course reopened as the “TPC of Connecticut” and became host to the Greater Hartford Open.

The course underwent another renovation in 1989 by architect Bobby Weed who had Tour players Howard Twitty and Roger Maltbie helping as consultants. The club reopened again in 1991 with almost a completely new front nine holes and was renamed the TPC at River Highlands.

The Course

Situated about 120 miles northeast of New York City, and around 30 miles from the Atlantic coast, TPC River Highlands is located just outside of Hartford in the town of Cromwell, Connecticut. Beautifully carved into slightly rolling terrain the course gets its name from being situated on a bluff high above the Connecticut River. It meanders over 148 acres with an assortment of trees framing its gently rolling fairways.