Xander Schauffele tests new-look TPC, puts himself in Rory McIlroy’s shoes at Travelers Championship

CROMWELL — Xander Schauffele is not a big fan of course redesigns, but the No. 2 golfer in the world generally approved of the new-look TPC River Highlands.“For the most part, it feels like most courses that have been redone are worse, to be honest,” said Schauffele, after playing the front nine in the Travelers Championship practice round Tuesday. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to sit here and tell you a course that’s been redone that I’m like, wow, this is way better. Usually there’s some courses that people try to redo and they make them worse. So that’s just kind of how it goes, unfortunately, just trying to cater to modern golf.”Schauffele said the changes make the Travelers course “visually more intimidating,” with tighter fairways on holes 1 and 6. He said the green was a little smaller on 11, but that the course is still “outstanding” overall.What changes have been made to Travelers Championship course for 2024?
Schauffele won the Travelers in 2022, shooting 19-under par. Last year, he was 14-under, tied for 24th. He’s on a roll of success.He won his first major, the PGA Championship, in Louisville May 19 and, just Tuesday morning, qualified for the U.S. team to play in the Olympics.Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler, Wyndham Clark and Collin Morikawa, all of whom are at the Travelers this week, will be in Paris next month. Schauffele won the Gold Medal in Tokyo in 2021.“It’s super special,” Schauffele said. “It’s always an honor to represent your country in any given tournament or event, so it was a really cool thing I was able to share with my family after winning the Gold Medal and qualifying was my first goal this year. It’s a very hard team to qualify for, as you guys have seen on this U.S. side. That was a really big goal of mine to get back and really looking forward to competing again.”Nearly all of the top 50 players on the PGA Tour are set to play at the Travelers, a designated “Signature Event” with a $20 million purse, $3.6 million and 700 FedEx Cup points going to the winner. Missing, though, was Rory McIlroy, No. 3 in the world, who pulled out of the Travelers Monday, a day after missing a couple of short putts to lose the U.S. Open at Pinehurst to Bryson DeChambeau.After US Open meltdown, Rory McIlroy withdraws from Travelers Championship“As a competitor all of us have had our highs and lows to a certain degree,” said Schauffele, who finished in a tie for seventh in the Open. “It’s a tough spot. I’m sure he and his team are discussing what happened and sometimes you just need to step away from it all.“He’s under a bit more of a microscope. When things are going really well people are all over him, and unfortunately when things don’t go your way, people are all over him. … He’s going to have to answer those questions and at some point he will, because he always does.”CBS analyst Frank Nobilo dishes on Bryson DeChambeau, state of golf and the Travelers Championship field Travelers notes: Exemptions include ThorbjornsenMichael Thorbjornsen, who won some fans at the TPC with an impressive run and fourth-place finish as an amateur in 2022, will make his professional debut at this Travelers Championship as a sponsor exemption. Thorbjornsen, who played at Stanford, finished No. 1 in PGA Tour University ranking in May, earning membership for the remainder of the 2024 and 2025 seasons. Other sponsor exemptions include Adam Scott, Webb Simpson and Billy Horschel. … Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa, two of the top golfers in the field, played in the Travelers as sponsor exemptions in 2019.  … Keegan Bradley will try to become the Travelers first repeat winner here since Phil Mickelson (2001-02). … Players always tout the amenities at the Travelers; this year, the most popular new feature seems to be courtesy cars for caddies, as well as players. … As of Tuesday afternoon, there were no withdrawals other than McIlroy. … The Pro-Am Wednesday will be missing some of the usual celebs from UConn. Former Huskies quarterback Dan Orlovsky, and former Heisman winner Doug Flutie and former Bruin Tuuka Rask will be playing.Dom Amore: Travelers Champ Keegan Bradley thriving through pro golf’s turmoil  

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