CROMWELL, Conn. -- The Travelers Championship returns to TPC River Highlands this week as Hunter Mahan defends his title.

Mahan earned his elusive first PGA Tour win a year ago when he triumphed over Jay Williamson in a playoff at the Travelers Championship. Mahan made a birdie on the first extra hole to capture the title.

Mahan opened with an 8-under 62 and closed with a 5-under 65 that helped him to victory in a season that eventually led to his inclusion on his first U.S. Presidents Cup team.

A year ago, Jay Williamson turned in his best PGA Tour finish when, playing on a sponsor's exemption as a non-PGA Tour member, he tied Hunter Mahan through 72 holes before falling in a one-hole playoff. Williamson and Justin Rose were the only players in the field to record four sub-70 rounds at the par-70 TPC River Highlands.

The $648,000 Williamson earned for finishing second was 77.5 percent of his total Tour earnings in 2007 ($835,515). Because he was a non-member, Williamson earned no FedExCup points a year ago and didn't place on the final money list. But his total earnings would have left him in 124th place, between Jeff Maggert and Kevin Stadler. Williamson's previous-best earnings season on the Tour came in 2004 when he won $660,038.

Despite 25-year-old Hunter Mahan winning last year, numerous PGA Tour veterans made strong showings in Connecticut. Of the 12 players who finished in the top 10, six were 40 or older, led by 51-year-old Fred Funk (fifth). The others were Tom Lehman (48, tied for sixth), Vijay Singh (44, fourth), Billy Mayfair (41, tied for ninth), Jay Williamson (40, second) and David Toms (40, tied for sixth).

By winning in 2007, Hunter Mahan became the 13th player to win his first PGA Tour title at the Travelers Championship. Others who have achieved that feat in the last 15 years include Stewart Cink (1997), Brent Geiberger (1999) and J.J. Henry (2006).

Kirk Triplett still holds the TPC River Highlands' 18-hole record. Triplett shot a 9-under 61 in 2000. Hunter Mahan came close to Triplett's record in 2007. He opened the tournament by shooting a 62 that is the lowest first-round score in tournament history. Mahan's 62 matched Fred Funk's 62 -- the lowest starts by eventual winners in 2007. Funk won the Mayakoba Golf Classic at Riviera Maya.

It was quite a year for Hunter Mahan in 2007. Not only did he win his first Tour event at the Travelers Championship, he was also a member of the winning U.S. Presidents Cup team, where he fashioned a 2-3-0 record. He finished 15th in the FedExCup, set a career high in earnings ($2,858,995) and had one of the five double eagles in 2007 (No. 11 at The Players Championship). He also was one of three players to record three eagles in one round (Nos. 9, 11 and 18 in the first round of the Canadian Open).

In his last two Travelers Championship starts, Hunter Mahan tied for second in 2006 and won in 2007. He's pocketed $1,467,200 in those two starts. In the previous three tournaments, Mahan joins Woody Austin and Nick Watney as players who have recorded two top-10s. Austin, the 2004 champion, tied for ninth in 2005 and tied for fifth in 2006. Watney tied for ninth in both 2005 and 2006. Watney missed the cut in 2007, while Austin tied for 43rd. Mahan did not play in 2005.

A sponsor's exemption has finished inside the top 10 at the Travelers Championship every year since 2005, when Michael Putnam tied for fourth. A year later, Notah Begay III, the 2000 winner, was the only sponsor's exemption to make the cut. He tied for ninth. Last year, Jay Williamson lost in a playoff to Hunter Mahan. In 2004, Chris Nallen was the highest finisher among the sponsor's exemptions. Nallen tied for 49th.

With his sudden-death U.S. Open playoff victory over Rocco Mediate on Monday, Tiger Woods extended his lead in the FedExCup standings to 6,755 points. The top five in the FedExCup includes Woods followed by Phil Mickelson, Justin Leonard, Ryuji Imada and Geoff Ogilivy.

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