Travelers Championship

Connecticut's best field in recent years includes 36 professionals who have won in the past two years, and three who captured their first PGA TOUR victories this season. The champions were recognized with ceremonial street re-naming in downtown Hartford today.

HARTFORD, Conn., May 23, 2007 - The best of the best PGA TOUR professionals will compete at the inaugural Travelers Championship, to be held June 18-24 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. The Championship announced today that the highly competitive field now contains 36 professional golfers who have captured PGA TOUR victories in the past two years. The elite group contains three players who have played very well this year, each netting their first wins- Nick Watney, Boo Weekley and Charley Hoffman. Also among the 36 are three of the top four ranked players in the FedExCup points race, Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh and Zach Johnson.

In honor of this tremendous grouping of champions, Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez renamed two downtown streets today. Through the end of June, Hartford's Central Row will be known as Champions Row, and Columbus Blvd. will be Champions Blvd.

"The Travelers Championship is pleased to deliver such strong action for the course this summer. To have more than 30 players who have won a tournament in the past two years means that the competition at our event will be intense," said Nathan Grube, tournament director. "With the talent in our player field, golf fans certainly have a great week of golf action to look forward to here in Connecticut."

Nick Watney turned professional in 2003. This year, Watney has had three top-10 finishes including his first PGA TOUR victory, at the Zurich Classic of New Orleans. The win jumped him from No. 72 to No. 12 in the FedExCup standings. Last year, in his second season on the PGA TOUR, he posted a career-high six top-10s and 11 top-25s to finish 75th on the money list.

Upon returning to the PGA TOUR for the second time after several years on the Nationwide Tour, Boo Weekley picked up his first TOUR victory at the 2007 Verizon Heritage with a one stroke win over Ernie Els. Weekley has had three top-10s this year, posting first career top-10 at the Mayakoba Golf Classic, where he finished solo sixth, three shots behind champion Fred Funk. One week later, finished tied for second at The Honda Classic after losing in a four-man playoff. In 2006, Weekley finished seventh on the Nationwide Tour money list.

Charley Hoffman captured his first PGA TOUR victory at the 2007 Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, after defeating John Rollins in the first hole of a playoff. Last year, during his rookie season on the PGA TOUR, Hoffman posted five top-10s en route to top 100 finish on money list. He also finished 10th in Driving Distance (304.4 yards).

In addition, to this year's winners, the following recent champions have committed to play in the Travelers Championship: Eric Axley, 2006 Champion, Shell Houston Open; Jason Bohn, 2005 Champion, B.C. Open; Olin Browne, 2005 Champion, Deutsche Bank Championship; Joe Durant, 2006 Champion, FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World Resort; Robert Gamez, 2005 Champion, Valero Texas Open; Lucas Glover, 2005 Champion, FUNAI Classic at Walt Disney World Resort; Tim Herron, 2006 Bank of America Colonial; J.B. Holmes, 2006 Champion, FBR Open; Peter Lonard, 2005 Champion, MCI Heritage; Troy Matteson, 2006 Champion, Frys.com Open; Arron Oberholser, 2006 Champion, AT & T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am; Tim Petrovic, 2005 Champion, Zurich Classic of New Orleans; John Rollins, 2006 Champion, B.C. Open presented by Turning Stone Resort; John Senden, 2006 Champion, John Deere Classic; D.J. Trahan, 2006 Champion, Southern Farm Bureau Classic; Brett Wetterich, 2006 Champion EDS Byron Nelson Championship and Dean Wilson, 2006 Champion, The INTERNATIONAL.

Rounding out the 36 recent champions are Phil Mickelson, Vijay Singh, Zach Johnson, David Toms, Stuart Appleby, Stewart Cink, Brad Faxon, Jason Gore, Fred Funk, Mark Calcavecchia, Padraig Harrington, Trevor Immelman, Carl Pettersson, Corey Pavin, Rod Pampling and defending champion J.J. Henry.

Travelers Championship tickets are available on www.TravelersChampionship.com.

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About the Travelers Championship

The Travelers Championship will be held June 18-24, 2007 at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn. Proud to be part of the inaugural FedExCup season, the 2007 event marks the start of a new era for professional golf in Connecticut, at a tournament with a rich history of more than 50 years on the PGA TOUR. With a new title sponsor, course improvements, and the highest purse in the tournament's history ($6 million), the Travelers Championship is committed to becoming one of the top TOUR events. The championship is sponsored by Travelers, a leading provider of property casualty insurance. Travelers is a proud hometown title sponsor that has been doing business in the community for nearly a century and a half and today has more than 6,000 employees in the Greater Hartford area. For more information, visit www.TravelersChampionship.com.