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HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | FEBRUARy 20, 2023 17 "You get a very strong guaranteed field (with this designation)," Bessette said. "And on top of that, who do you think will also show up because it's a $20-million purse as opposed to an $8.6-million purse? This becomes one of the major tournaments of the season." Bessette called McIlroy a "great friend." This will be the golfer's fifth year playing at TPC River Highlands. In all four of his previous Travelers Championship appearances, McIlroy finished in the top 20. "I remember Rory the first time he came here he said, 'this feels like a major, from the sponsors, the volunteers, to the fans,'" said Trav- elers Championship Tournament Director Nathan Grube. "He said 'There's people waiting on the first tee at 6:50 in the morning when I tee up — you don't get that in every market.'" What about Tiger Woods, who has never played in the Cromwell tournament? Grube said he'd love to see Woods participate in this year's Travelers Championship, but acknowledged the golfer's serious injury from a 2021 car accident has limited his playing time. Heightened interest Grube said that before the elevat- ed-status announcement, tournament organizers were already planning a bigger event in 2023 after three years of navigating COVID-19-related restrictions and some fan hesitancy, which limited attendance. Grube said the tournament doesn't report attendance figures, but last year's event was more in line with 2021's numbers than pre-pan- demic 2019. The challenge this year will be trying to find the perfect balance between "letting as many people be a part of this as possible without compromising the experience for everybody." Since the elevated-status announcement, though, Grube said interest in all levels of the event have increased — from volunteers reaching out about how they can help, to companies asking about available sponsorships. Individual tickets don't go on sale until April, but corporate packages and club tickets are available and sponsorship sales are "way ahead" of where they normally are at this time of year, Bessette said. Multiple hospitality suites on the 15th- and 17th-hole greens and 18th-hole tee — which offer air condi- tioning, food and other perks, and are used by companies to host clients, employees and other guests — are already sold out on certain days, Grube said. "We still have some stuff available but we're sold out of some places much further in advance than we ever had been before," Grube said. 2024 and beyond The Travelers Championship has been a charitable endeavor from the start, with 100% of net proceeds going to nonprofits. Since Travelers Cos. became the tournament's title sponsor in 2007, the Travelers Championship has generated more than $25 million for nearly 900 local charities. Last year, more than $2.5 million was given out to about 140 organiza- tions, including The Hole in the Wall Gang Camp, First Tee of Connecticut, animal shelters and local Boys & Girls Clubs. Bessette said the heightened status of this year's championship will help with these efforts. "The greater we make this tourna- ment, the bigger, the more desired, the more people that attend and the more companies that buy sponsor- ships — it will all translate into more money for charity, more excitement and more pride in the community," Bessette said. Beyond this year, the Trav- elers Championship's standing is less clear. It's not guaranteed an elevated status in 2024, and there's been some speculation the spots could rotate. That could mean next year's event loses some prestige. But that could change and Bessette has close ties with PGA Tour officials, which could work in the tournament's favor. Travelers will know by this spring what events get elevated status in 2024. Bessette said he'd love for Travelers Championship to receive that designation annually, but he has confidence in the event regardless. Travelers is under contract to be the tournament's title sponsor through at least 2030. "I think we can do a really good job, elevated or not, in 2024 and beyond," Bessette said. By Skyler Frazer sfrazer@hartfordbusiness.com The fan experience at the 2023 Travelers Championship will look different on and off the golf course compared to previous years. For one, organizers said they expect concerts — which haven't occurred since 2019 due to the pandemic — to return but be moved off-property to make room for more interactive fan experiences. Concerts typically have taken place on a stage in the middle of the TPC River Highlands golf course in Cromwell. "The demand for experiences in the fan zone was way more than the demand for the show at the end of the day," Tournament Director Nathan Grube said, referring to fan surveys organizers do annually. The expanded fan zone, Grube said, will offer more family-friendly activities for people with children that might need a break from the tournament. There will also be more interactive "experiences." In another change, the Travelers Championship Women's Day event will return to Cromwell this year after a temporary move to Hartford in 2022. The event was created to encourage more women to get involved with golf, with proceeds raised benefiting tournament charities. Last year's women's event was moved to Travelers Plaza in down- town Hartford for a networking breakfast featuring "Inside Edition" host Deborah Norville and UConn women's basketball star Paige Bueckers. "We experimented last year — we had never had it downtown before," Grube said. "Some people liked it, which was great, but it was funny how many people asked, 'hey, thanks for Women's Day, but is it gonna be back at the course next year?'" Grube said a new structure has been built outside TPC River Highland's practice facility to host the event, which usually draws 600 to 700 attendees. This year's tournament will also have more complimentary hospi- tality tents for anyone with a ticket, Grube said. Concerts moving, Women's Day returning to Cromwell for this year's Travelers Championship PHOTOS | CONTRIBUTED PHOTO | CONTRIBUTED Scenes from the 2022 Travelers Championship, including the 18th hole (bottom photo). Nathan Grube and Andy Bessette with 2022 Travelers Championship winner Xander Schauffele.