Coming off the draining US Open, most players welcome the more relaxed setting at the Travelers Championship. However, this year it may have been a little too easy. That’s according to analyst Andy Johnson. After defeating Scottie Scheffler on a dramatic Monday playoff, Viktor Hovland secured his first 2026 PGA Tour win. But Johnson doesn’t even consider it a real tournament.

“The venue is a disgrace,” Johnson said on The Shotgun Start Podcast. “What they just rolled out… this thing is the furthest thing from an elite venue that you could find in pro golf. It is a joke. It is a joke of a golf course… TPC River Highlands is not a test of skill… It delivers an exciting tournament every year because it doesn’t actually test everyone. 

“It’s like stimulating a freaking golf tournament. You know what? I enjoy watching the Travelers… Having said that, the sponsor, the fans, deserve to watch better golf than what TPC River Highlands produces. It is a joke.”

If you didn’t know, Johnson isn’t the first to take aim at the par-70, 6,841-yard course. Top players often sail through the course because of advances in equipment, ball technology, and higher skill levels. Think about this: Kenny Perry set the tournament scoring record at 20-under 260 in 2009.

This mark stood for 14 years. And then Keegan Bradley shattered it in 2023. Braley finished at a course-record 23-under 257 to claim the title. And after his final round, Rory McIlroy called the course “obsolete.” He even added that technology had simply “passed this course by.”

But still, Travelers remains the PGA Tour’s most fan-favorite tournament. Look back at last year. The tournament drew an average viewership of 3.519 million for the final round, a 35 percent increase from 2024. Also remember, USA Today has named it the best golf tournament for fans. 

And don’t forget, Newsweek recognized it as the PGA Tour’s best tournament in September last year. So, clearly people watch it and love it. But that doesn’t mean changes weren’t made to the course to make things tougher. 

TPC River Highlands underwent a facelift long before Viktor Hovland defeated Scottie Scheffler

Once Bradley made his record-breaking finish in 2023, Travelers’ Executive Vice President Andy Bessette told The Associated Press that changes were planned for 2024 to make things tougher for the pros. 

“We take all the feedback we get very seriously,” Bessette said. “I can tell you that changes are already in the works. We strive for this to be a top-notch event and we will do everything we can to improve it every year.”

The changes arrived before the 2024 Travelers Championship. The modifications were applied to six holes. It focused on the following: Narrowing fairways, adding mounding for uneven lies and strategy, moving the 9th tee box to bring trees and houses more into play, shrinking the 11th green, and cutting off the 12th fairway at driver distance with rough.

What’s more, narrowing and mounding occurred on holes 1, 6, and 13. Despite the changes, however, the score remained relatively low. This is perhaps what continues to form opinions among experts, including Andy Johnson.