Travelers Championship raises $1.6 million for charity despite no fans

PGA Tour tournaments raise a bulk of their money for charity through ticket sales and their pro-ams.

The Travelers Championship, won by Dustin Johnson in late June, announced on Wednesday that the event raised $1.6 million for 115 charities in the Cromwell, Connecticut, area.

That’s quite a feat, because the Travelers, the fourth tournament back after the 91-day COVID-19 imposed stoppage, had no fans on site at TPC River Highlands.

According to the Associated Press, tournament director Nathan Grube said the loss of ticket revenue was partially offset by corporate donors who provided funds even without getting the ticket packages, receptions or hospitality tents in return.

There were about 200,000 fans on site in 2019, which allowed tournament organizers to donate close to $2.1 million to charity.

Not having fans on site has been par for the course on Tour, although the Houston Open in two weeks will have a limited number of tickets available.