PGA Tour's Championship Series Raises Stakes For Tournament Hosts
The PGA Tour has named eleven signature events with the addition of the Travelers Championship in Connecticut, confirming its inclusion in the new tour schedule.
"Our goal every year is for the Travelers Championship to be one of the best tournaments on the PGA Tour, so being part of the upcoming PGA Tour Championship Series is validation of the collective effort that Travelers, the tournament team, fans and volunteers have invested over the past two decades," Andy Bessette, Travelers Executive Vice President, said in a release published in the Hartford Courant. "We thank the Tour for this opportunity and are excited to partner with them on working hard to deliver a world-class experience."
The tour has shown a desire to move its Championship Series events to large cities and major fan bases as it looks to increase viewership of the world's best players under its new model. In a release from the PGA Tour, Boston, Denver, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle and Washington, D.C., are all being considered as potential tournament sites.
To become a Championship Series host, the naming rights organization must fund the $20 million prize pool, cover event build-out expenses, share a portion of hospitality revenue with the PGA Tour and staff the event.
To recoup this investment, title sponsors rely on hospitality tent sales, ticket sales, special events and vendor revenue. Most of the revenue generated by a title sponsor comes from in-person attendance.
In 2025, the Travelers Championship ranked ninth in total television viewership, with former Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley winning the tournament, further fueling discussion about his role as one of the few playing captains in Ryder Cup history.
Estimates for the Travelers Championship conservatively place 2025 ticket sales at approximately 125,000, while attendance during the tournament's busiest years has approached 200,000.
The recently concluded 3M Open in Blaine, Minnesota, saw an estimated 30% increase in ticket sales following the announcement that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler would compete. Despite a hot and humid final Sunday with temperatures reaching 98 degrees, the crowds following Scheffler and eventual winner Jackson Kouvin were as many as 10 rows deep.
A well-attended 3M Open has historically drawn around 125,000 spectators, but the golf-centric Twin Cities may have surpassed 165,000 in total attendance this year. Minnesota claims to have the highest number of golfers per capita in the United States, and with the tournament site located just 25 minutes from downtown Minneapolis, attendance continues to outpace the event's television popularity.
“The support this week’s been tremendous. The crowd here has been great not only to myself but to the guys I’ve been playing well. Yeah, I’ve been with Hideki the last few days and they’ve been supporting him as well. It’s been a really fun environment to be part of and looking forward to getting back out tomorrow,” Scheffler said in an interview following his third round at the 3M Open.
The 3M Open ranked 27th in television viewership in 2025, but with the successful recruitment of Scheffler, the tournament may begin attracting more of the world’s top golfers. Since the event’s debut in 2019, this marked only the second time the world No. 1 golfer has competed in the tournament. Despite its lower TV ratings, in 2025 the tournament ranked 15th in in-person attendance.
The additional investment by 3M to secure the world's top-ranked player has led some to question what future investments may follow and whether the 3M Open could eventually ascend to the Championship Series. Under the current guidelines, existing tournaments in major golf markets can move into the Championship Series beginning in 2028, provided the title sponsor meets the required investment criteria.