CROMWELL – Ever since Phil Mickelson won the former Canon GHO golf tournament at the TPC at River Highlands in Cromwell, the tournament has slipped nearly to the point of total obscurity.

But Buick rescued the tournament from being an end-of-the-summer tour qualifier and quickly pushed the tournament back into the PGA consciousness. St. Paul Travelers hopes to take it even further in 2007.

St. Paul Travelers and the Greater Hartford Jaycees (GHJ) Community Foundation announced this week that The Travelers Championship will offer a total purse of $6 million, the highest purse in the history of the tournament and an increase of over $1 million from last year.

“We are extremely excited that all parties came together to mutually agree on upgrades to help revitalize this storied tournament, which is so important to the State of Connecticut,” said Jay Fishman, Chairman and CEO of St. Paul Travelers. “Following renovations to an already beautiful TPC River Highlands facility, we believe that the Travelers Championship is positioned to be a featured, best-in-class tournament on the PGA TOUR.”

Other improvements to the tournament include innovative upgrades to the TPC River Highlands facility, including a state-of-the-art practice facility and driving range, a revamped corporate row and a renovation to the course skyboxes.

The plan will be phased-in beginning in January 2007, with components of the project being completed throughout the next two years.

Also, the tournament Pro-Am will be restructured to feature groups of three (rather than the usual five) to give the players a better opportunity to interact with the participants and fans in attendance.

The Travelers Championship is working with Buick on plans to continue its role as the official car of the tournament.

“It’s exciting to have such a quality group of partners dedicated to making this tournament a premier event on the PGA TOUR,” said Nathan Grube, Travelers Championship tournament director. “With their support, it gives us an opportunity to forge full steam ahead and continue to enliven the future of this already distinguished tournament.”

The four-year agreement, announced earlier in the year between Travelers and the PGA tour, ensures the tournament will be held through 2010 in Connecticut … which has hosted a PGA stop since 1952. The 2007 Travelers Championship will be held June 18-24 and is included on the list of tournaments in which players will receive points for the first annual FedEx Cup.

Sam Snead, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Billy Casper, Ken Venturi, Nick Price and Greg Norman are some of the leading golfers who have won tournaments in Connecticut and with the new enticements – not the least of the which is the size of the purse – who will be the next?

Tiger Woods?

For more information, visit www.travelerschampionship.com.