Tournament
Harris English Takes Eight Playoff Holes to Win Travelers Championship
By JOHN TORSIELLO
I
t took a remarkable eight playoff holes, but veteran Harris English came out the winner of the 2021 Travelers Championship over Kramer Hickock. The victory was the second of the season for English, who triumphed at the Sentry Tournament of Champions in January and finished third at last week’s U.S. Open. He pocketed $1.332 million for his win at the Travelers Championship. The 31-year-old English canned a 16-foot putt at the par-four 18th hole shortly after 8 p.m., the sixth time in the playoff that the pair played the 18th (the par-four 17th hole was played twice). The pair finished tied at 13-under-par after regulation play. “I mean, 17 and 18, both downwind holes, both pretty difficult pins to get close to, and Kramer and I made some great putts,” said English after his fourth PGA Tour victory. “Hats off to him for a good fight. We were both fighting. It seemed like every hole we played one guy had the advantage and the other one ended up making a six- or
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seven-footer to keep it going.” English said he and Hickok joked that one of them was going to make a birdie at some point. “I had had that putt (on the final hole) a few times, the last probably hour and a half before, and finally got it right and hit a good putt. I’m excited about where my game is just coming off a three-week stretch where I contended at every tournament.” English talked about his long day on Sunday. “It was tough. My hamstrings were getting tired, my back was getting tired. I know Kramer was probably feeling the same thing. You’ve got to lock in and make every shot the most important. It’s hard to stay mentally into it and not to lose focus, but I tried really hard to stay focused and stay sharp and really be on my toes, because in a playoff match play scenarios, you got to be ready for anything.” English said winning the Travelers Championship was special. “It’s a course that’s so much fun to play. It’s always in great shape. The fans out here are incredible, and the Travelers team
Golfing Magazine • New England Edition
