First round of Travelers Championship tees off on Thursday

CROMWELL, Conn. (WFSB) - The first round of the Travelers Championship tees off on Thursday.

The festivities begin tomorrow, but players are already practicing at the TPC River Highlands.

The driving range has had some constant activity throughout the day. Things will really ramp up there tomorrow.

Who will you see on the course this week?

The defending champion is Scottie Scheffler.

He is going to be itching to show that some of his late round struggles at the U.S. Open last weekend were an aberration.

Scheffler defeated Tom Kim in a playoff.

Scheffler will try to be a back-to-back champ at TPC for the first time since Phil Mickelson in 2001 and 2002.

You will also see J.J. Spaun, the new U.S. Open champion.

Spaun has played at TPC River Highlands before.

In fact, he’s been in the top 20 every year he’s played in Cromwell.

Rory McIlroy is also set to play this week.

After a heartbreaking loss at the U.S. Open last year, Rory pulled out of the Travelers Championship. He’s back this year, and he’ll notice some of the subtle changes on the course that he hinted at a couple of year ago.

It’s the top 75 on the PGA Tour. There are no more local qualifiers in the field, just the best of the best. There will be no cut after the second round on Friday.

Everyone plays on the weekend regardless of where they stand after the first two rounds.