Friday at the '23 Travelers

Friday at the '23 Travelers


Good morning everyone, and happy Sunday! After four long years, I finally made my return to the Travelers Championship in Cromwell, CT on Friday, June 23rd. Like years past the atmosphere was incredible, the fans were electric, and the volunteers were as friendly as ever. It was great to get back amongst the players and broadcasters to watch them do what they do best: play golf, and report on it.  

Notable moments included a fist-bump from 2021 Master's Champion, Hideki Matsuyama, $12.50 Truly's, a high-five from Smylie Kaufman, and some nice banter with Frank Nobilo (great to see you again, Frank!). 

Enough of the pleasantries, it was a great day to watch some outstanding golf. The weather held off for the most part as I spent a significant portion of the morning following Scottie Scheffler, Jon Rahm, and Tony Finau as my marquee group. It's not often that you get to see the WGR #1 and #2 duke it out in the same group just a couple hours from my home (unless The Northern Trust returns to TPC Boston). 

The course impressed me like it always does, and the numbers that were coming in were even more impressive given the rain coming into the fold at times causing the course to play differently than many game plans accounted for. 

Getting up close and hearing caddie conversations is one of my favorite things about attending a professional golf tournament. The amount of thought and preparation that goes into every single shot is astonishing, it can be what separates the good from the great on the leaderboard at the end of the day.

What stuck out to me the most was this being an "elevated event". Maybe because my previous experiences at the Travelers have been on a Saturday and Sunday respectively, it just seemed like more people are saving their PTO for next Friday when the July 4th weekend rolls around. Elevated in terms of financial incentives for the players? Sure. However, the fan experience was very similar to years past (chime in if you agree/disagree). The lack of LIV talk was noted, and it was awesome to just focus on the high-quality golf for one entire day. 

Entering the final round today, let's see if Keegan Bradley (-21) can hold off the 2019 Travelers Champion, Chez Reavie (-20) in the final pairing today. They tee off at 1:55 ET with a star-studded pack just slightly behind them on the leaderboard. 

We have a great day of golf ahead of us with the LPGA also wrapping up a major at Baltrusol Golf Club in the KPMG Women's PGA Championship. Time to pour your second coffee of the morning and get as many screens in front of you as you can! 

Thank you for taking the time to read along. 

Matt Lynch (@mattlynchgolf , @addresstheball)

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