CROMWELL >> Last week’s U.S. Open at Oakmont was enjoyable for golf fans who like to imagine professionals in their shoes.

As bogeys were collected and pars were celebrated — the winner, J.J. Spaun, finishing just one shot below par, the week was full of frustration familiar to average golfers. That won’t be the case at the Travelers Championship, where birdies will decorate scorecards and the winning score has been double-digits under par every year since 1994.

Scottie Scheffler shot 22-under-par 258 to win in a playoff at TPC River Highlands last year. The world No. 1 wasn’t buying the idea the course might be too easy, rather that PGA Tour players might just be too good.

“As much as some people want us to feel like them, professional golf is different than amateur golf,” Scheffler said. “We get a lot of time to prepare to go out and play. The guys out here are really good at golf. If you stand here on the driving range and watch a range session, that ball doesn’t go offline very often. I think sometimes, especially in this day and age, people get way too caught up in the winning score being what is a proper test. I think a proper test is good shots being rewarded and bad shots being punished. I think this is one of the best golf courses for that.”

Three of the four lowest-ever scores at the Travelers have come in the last three years. Keegan Bradley shot a record 23-under to win in 2023, and Tom Kim’s 22-under was only enough to force a playoff with Scheffler last year. Kenny Perry shot the same number to win in 2009.

Several changes were made to the course in 2024 to reward good shots and punish bad ones without adding any yardage. The idea was to “increase the competitive nature of the course without (anyone) really noticing,” senior vice president of rules and competitions for the PGA Tour, Gary Young, told The Courant last summer.

For the professionals, TPC River Highlands is a breath of fresh air, especially with the signature event coming after the week that was had at the U.S. Open.

Rory McIlroy, who two years ago criticized the course for being “obsolete,” said that it is the “perfect chaser” for Oakmont.