Travelers Insurance, the PGA Tour and the Greater Hartford Community Foundation this morning announced a 10-year title sponsorship extension of the Travelers Championship. The company also agreed to extend its marketing relationship with the PGA Tour and will maintain its title as the official property casualty insurance provider of the PGA, Web.com and Champions Tours through '18. Travelers Exec VP & Chief Administrative Officer Andy Bessette said that the company opted for a long-term deal for the tournament at TPC River Highlands in order to put its commitment to the event on display. He believes the gesture will resonate with the local community, sponsors and the Tour, as well as the players. Bessette said, "I hope that that pays dividends. I hope that more players start to look at us and say, ‘Wow, these guys take this seriously. They are committed to us, they’re committed to our sport, they’re committed to what we do, and so we should be committed to them.'" Bessette noted the company "strongly prefers" to hold the tournament the weekend following the U.S. Open. The company will be "flexible" in order to allow the Tour to schedule around the '16 Rio and '20 Tokyo Games, but he expects the tournament will maintain its place on the calendar in non-Olympic years. Bessette: "The week after the Open, we get the best players in the game. And to me that’s the key." Travelers became title sponsor of the tournament in '07 following Buick's departure from the role. The purse for this year's tournament is $6.2M, up from $6.1M in '13 and $4.4M in the last year under Buick. In celebration of the extension, tournament officials will offer fans two tickets for $24 to this year's event. Bessette noted additional improvements to the tournament's fan engagement efforts are still under consideration.
