Travelers Championship, a decent opportunity for youngsters to showcase their talent and skill
Travelers Championship has always been a platform for young players to start off their careers. Players like Hunter Mahan, Simpson, and Patrick Cantlay have all played here as juniors before turning pro.
The interesting thing is that many of them had started their professional golfing career from this very championship.
Hunter Mahan was just 17 when he first played at the Travelers Championship. Since turning pro in 2003, he has been a frequent participant at the TPC River Highlands.
Mahan simply loves the tournament. What he finds best about this event is that the tournament showcases the stars of tomorrow.
It is somewhat of an objective of the organizers to bring as much young talent as possible to the Travelers Championship, so that the fans can have a glimpse of the upcoming golfers.
Andy Bessette, Chief Administrative Officer for the Travelers said, “Everything we have done is about building relationships with people. We strongly believe building relationships with the young guys is a good investment for our future. You do something
good for them, they remember that forever”.
The tournament simply markets the young talent and then people come and ask about them.
Travelers Championship has always attracted young talent. People like Bubba Watson, Fowler, and Keegan Bradley all have also featured as amateurs in the tournament before turning pro.
The tournaments boasts a very high profile line-up for the championship but all eyes will be on the UCLA golfer, Patrick Cantlay. He has just announced that he will forego his two years of UCLA and will be a part of the PGA Tour.
This will be Cantlay’s first tournament as a professional golfer. Last year, when he appeared as an amateur, he surprised everybody. He shot a second round 60, which was the best score ever recorded by an amateur.
Another amateur, Patrick Rodgers who turned pro after this year Masters will also be featuring in this event.
Bryden Macpherson a former amateur from Australia will also be having a go at this year’s Travelers Championship, along with the upcoming Japanese star Ryo Ishikawa.
Hunter Mahan has been full of praise for the organizers, he was especially impressed with the youngsters playing in the event.
He said, “There are a lot of great young players out there, every year I go to the Travelers, and I see a bunch of them. Every year”.
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