Top 5 golfers missing at the 2023 Travelers Championship
The PGA Tour now moves to TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Connecticut, for the Travelers Championship 2023, which will take place from Thursday, June 22, to Sunday, June 25.
While most of the top players will be competing at the TPC River Highlands, considering it is one of the designated events on the PGA Tour schedule, a few big names will not be playing this week.
While Cameron Smith is the highest-ranked player missing from the Travelers Championship, World No. 10 Jordan Spieth has also decided to opt out of the tournament.
Here's a look at five top golfers missing from this week's Travelers Championship.
Top 5 golfers not playing at the 2023 Travelers Championship
1) Jordan Spieth
Jordan Spieth has decided to opt out of the 2023 Travelers Championship after missing the cut at the US Open 2023 last week. Each player can miss one designated event per season, and Spieth decided to skip this week's action.
The 29-year-old golfer has won the Championship once, in 2017, by beating Daniel Berger in the playoff. Overall, he has made three cuts in five appearances. Last year, he failed to make it to the weekend at TPC River Highlands.
2) Cameron Smith
World No. 7 Cameron Smith is the highest-ranked player missing from the TPC River Highlands field. Although LIV Golf decided to sign an agreement with the PGA Tour to form a common entity earlier this month, golfers associated with the Saudi-backed circuit have yet to receive permission to compete at PGA Tour-sanctioned events.
Smith had a brilliant week at LACC, finishing in fourth place. He has competed at the Travelers five times but hasn't really made any impact, with his best performance being T30 in 2021.
3) Brooks Koepka
Brooks Koepka is another top golfer who is not featured in this week's field. Just like Smith, he is also out of the tournament for his association with the Saudi-backed circuit.
Koepka has made the cut in all five starts at TPC River Highlands, and his best result came in 2021 when he finished T5.
This year, Koepka has been in incredible form, especially in the majors. He finished runner-up at the Masters and then went on to clinch his third PGA Championship title. Last week, he finished 17th at the US Open.
4) Tyrrell Hatton
Tyrrell Hatton is another top-20 player who has decided not to compete at the Travelers Championship. He has been in good form recently and has five top-15 finishes in the last six events. He finished T27 at the US Open last week.
Hatton played the Travelers only once in 2016, when he finished T17.
5) Sam Burns
World No. 16 Sam Burns has also chosen to take a break this week.
This is the first time in five years that Burns is not competing at the Travelers Championship. Last year, he failed to make the cut. His best result at the event was T13 in 2021.