The PGA Tour heads to Hartford this week for the Travelers Championship, and the title sponsor "appears willing to do just about anything to make the players and their families comfortable," according to William Paxton of USA TODAY. Assembling a strong field the week after the U.S. Open "is no small task, and the Travelers had a wrinkle thrown in this year with last weekend's major being played on the opposite coast" at Chambers Bay. Tournament organizers "compiled a list after speaking to the players and studied how the RBC Heritage in Hilton Head, S.C., was able to draw a strong field the week after the Masters." It is "all about making it as convenient as possible for the players to get there." Travelers Championship Tournament Dir Nathan Grube said, "We provide a charter for the players. It's free for them and their families from wherever the U.S. Open is." Paxton notes to keep players' families happy, the insurance company "redid its day care programs and found activities for everyone." Nearby Legoland and spa days for the wives are "among the more popular ones." Grube: "We added things that made it easier for them, and we added a bunch of things for the wives to do." But besides "all the changes, Travelers hit the recruiting trail to try to sell the tournament." This week's field includes Bubba Watson, Hunter Mahan, Patrick Reed, Kevin Streelman, Padraig Harrington, Keegan Bradley, Zach Johnson and Louis Oosthuizen (USA TODAY, 6/25).
MELTS IN YOUR MOUTH...: The AP's Pat Eaton-Robb noted the Travelers Championship has "become known on tour for the little perks it offers players, including providing the champion with a supply of M&M's with his face printed onto the hard candy shell." Mars makes personalized M&M's for events such as weddings or corporate get-togethers, and Grube said that the idea to make them part of the Traveler's Championship prize package "began at one such event that included candies with the Travelers logo." Grube: "We thought, we're not going to be able to do a Wheaties box, but we can do this. So, now we hand them out at media day, we use them for our sponsor prizes. Any little thing that we can show our champion that his win is very personal for us" (AP, 6/24).
GETTING THE WORD OUT: Travelers Exec VP & Chief Administrative Officer Andy Bessette said of what he is trying to get out of the week, "It's helping charitable organizations involved with our tournament. And I don't always mean charity in the sense of giving money. That's important, and we gave $1.5 million last year, but it's also the exposure so they can get more people excited about what they're doing. Then there's also giving back to our community. And there's building our brand. We don't do much advertising at all compared to our competitors. So we use the Travelers Championship as our major exposure" (GOLF DIGEST STIX, 6/24).
