This article is part of our DraftKings PGA DFS Picks series.
TRAVELERS CHAMPIONSHIP
Purse: $20M
Winner's Share: $3.6M
FedEx Cup Points: 500 to the Winner
Location: Cromwell, Conn.
Course: TPC River Highlands
Yardage: 6,852
Par: 70
2022 champion: Xander Schauffele
Tournament Preview
In a PGA Tour season unlike any other, one of the biggest changes has been the introduction of designated events, and how they have kept coming at us for months, seemingly one right after another. So don't be shocked to learn that the Travelers is yet another. But, it's also the last one -- sort of. Technically, the Open Championship and the three playoff events are also designated, but all the top players would be at those four tournaments regardless. So the Travelers will be the last one that will boost a field, though it's always done quite well in attracting top golfers.
The Tour made a point of front-loading the designated events so the players fighting to get into the playoffs and/or keep their cards for next season would not be boxed out of late-season tournaments. There are only six more events before the playoffs and, with three of the four majors having now been played, it's starting to feel like the end of the season is growing near.
After the Travelers, it's the Rocket Mortgage, John Deere and Scottish Open. Then it's the Open Championship followed by the 3M Open and the Wyndham, and that's that. It'll then be playoff time. To further help the lesser players, there will be two upcoming alternate-field events -- the Barbasol opposite the Scottish and the Barracuda opposite the Open.
So the Travelers will be feature one of top fields over the next couple of months. Interestingly, it has always gotten a very good collection of players, even situated the week after the U.S. Open. And in this case, three time zones away across the country. But not one player withdrew this week, not even U.S. Open winner Wyndham Clark, who probably won't even be done responding to all his congratulatory text messages before his Thursday tee time.
Instead of naming all the top players who are in this 156-man field, it's become easier to just highlight those who aren't playing. This week, that's Jordan Spieth, Sam Burns, Tyrrell Hatton, Justin Rose and Chris Kirk. All the combatants who fought to the end at the U.S. Open -- Clark, Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler and Rickie Fowler -- will resume just four days later.
Also, three of the best young players in the game who we first highlighted two weeks ago at the Canadian Open will be on hand at TPC River Highlands. They are Ludvig Aberg and Sam Bennett, now professionals, and Michael Thorbjornsen, who is still at Stanford and stunningly tied for fourth here last year. Bennett is coming off another good week, with another made cut at a major. He finished T43 at the U.S. Open. Aberg finished in the top-25 at the Canadian Open in his pro debut. All three are in the field on sponsor invites, as is Ben James, a Connecticut native and University of Virginia standout who recently won the 2023 Phil Mickelson Award as the nation's top freshman.
Usually positioned right after the U.S. Open, the Travelers has served as an unofficial launching pad to pro careers. Three years ago, Matthew Wolff and Viktor Hovland made their pro debuts there. Two years ago, their former Oklahoma State teammate Austin Eckroat made this his PGA Tour pro debut. In the past, so did Justin Thomas, Patrick Cantlay, Jon Rahm, Webb Simpson and others. But Aberg and Bennett got a head start this year, so no one is turning pro this week.
The Travelers Insurance Company has been affiliated with the tournament since its inception way back in 1952. It became the title sponsor in 2007 -- after years of Sammy Davis Jr. being the "title host" in the 1970s and '80s -- and recently re-upped to continue at least through 2030. It knows a good thing when it sees it. The tournament annually ranks near the top of the PGA Tour attendance list – they treat the players great, which boosts the field strength, and in turn brings the fans on out.
The players may love the hospitality, but they wouldn't come if they didn't like the course. TPC River Highlands came on the scene in 1984. It checks in at a mere 6,800ish yards. The 1928 design by Robert J. Ross and Maurice Kearney, with a 1982 Pete Dye renovation followed by a 1989 Bobby Weed renovation tries to choke off the longest hitters by pinching the fairways around the 300-yard mark. That, plus tree-lined fairways and severe rough around the smallish greens, keeps scores from getting too low. The course usually ranks in the top half on the difficulty meter, and last year was 22nd hardest among the 50 courses played on Tour. That said, the lowest score ever recorded on the PGA Tour took place at River Highlands: Jim Furyk shot a 12-under 58 in the final round in 2016. Patrick Cantlay holds the record for an amateur at 60 set in 2011. Two years ago, Mackenzie Hughes opened with a 60 en route to a tie for third.
One of the most fun holes on Tour is the par-4, 296-yard 15th. There isn't a lot of water at River Highlands, but there is on that hole, plus four more. Virtually the entire field goes for the green there. There are only two par-5s, one a mere 523 yards where you better birdie or even eagle it. There are nine par-4s in the 400-450-yard range. The bentgrass/poa annua greens average 5,000 square feet and, with some changes a few years back, they speeded them up past 12 on the Stimpmeter.
As for the weather, there is some rain on the way -- not so much on Thursday but showers on Friday and then thunderstorms on the weekend. Otherwise, high temperatures will be around 80 degrees and winds are forecast to be moderate.
Travelers Championship Factoid: The tournament is 70 years old, yet there have been only two host courses. From 1952 to 1983, they used Wethersfield Country Club. In 1984, they moved about six miles to TPC Connecticut (renamed TPC River Highlands in 1991), and they've played there ever since.
Key Stats to Winning at TPC River Highlands
The most important indicators every week are current form and course history. "Key Stats" follow in importance.
• Strokes Gained: Approach/Greens in Regulation
• Strokes Gained: Putting
• Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee/Driving Accuracy
• Par 4 Efficiency 400-450
Past Champions
2022 - Xander Schauffele
2021 - Harris English
2020 - Dustin Johnson
2019 - Chez Reavie
2018 - Bubba Watson
2017 - Jordan Spieth
2016 - Russell Knox
2015 - Bubba Watson
2014 - Kevin Streelman
2013 - Ken Duke
Champion's Profile
Over the past decade, there has been a blend of long and short hitters winning the tournament, making the profile more challenging. Schauffele, definitely in the long-hitter camp, took his foot off the gas and ranked only 31st in driving distance. But he led the field in greens in regulation, and that is the biggest key on this second-shot golf course. Schauffele also ranked fourth in putting for the week in winning at 19-under. The winning score is in the teens year after year, though there has been a fairly wide disparity. Two years ago, English and Kramer Hickok ended regulation at 13-under. Before that, Johnson won at 19-under, Reavie and Watson (2018) at 17-under and Spieth at 12-under. With gnarly rough uncharacteristically so close to the green, there's a premium on greens in regulation, perhaps even more than usual. Even though the modern-day pro finds a way to thrive despite poor driving accuracy, we're putting some emphasis on tee balls this week, since the fairways are a bit narrow and pinched to cut off long drives. Overall, though, it's hard to find a true profile. Five years ago, Spieth had one of the oddest/worst stat lines you'll ever see for a winner. He did not finish inside the top-30 in the field in driving distance, driving accuracy, greens in regulation, proximity to the hole or Strokes Gained: Putting. It's a marvel that he won. Even his "best" stat, scrambling, was only T19. This was the tournament with Spieth's famous chest-bump with caddie Michael Greller after his 60-foot hole-out from a bunker on the first playoff hole defeated Daniel Berger. The over/under on the winning score on golfodds.com is 262.5 -- 17.5 under par. That was the same over/under as the past two years.
DRAFTKINGS VALUE PICKS
Based on Standard $50K Salary Cap
Tier 1 Values
Scottie Scheffler - $11,200 (Winning odds at the DraftKings Sportsbook: +600)
Not only has Scheffler finished inside the top-12 in every tournament he's played going back seven months, he's finished top-5 in his past five starts. He finished 13th here a year ago.
Jon Rahm - $10,800 (+1200)
Following his win at the Masters and then a runner-up to Tony Finau at Mexico, Rahm has been so-so. He was 50th at the PGA, 16th a the Memorial and 10th at the U.S. Open thanks only to a closing 65 on Sunday. But at least he's trending back to his normal standards. Through it all, Rahm's approach play has remained strong; he's ranked fourth in the field over his past 24 rounds.
Patrick Cantlay - $10,200 (+1100)
Not only is Cantlay the master of the top-15 in majors -- five in a row, including T14 at last week's U.S. Open -- he's the master of the top-15 at the Travelers -- between 11th and 15th the past five years. He's also No. 1 in our model. Cantlay famously shot a 60 at TPC River Highlands in 2011, the lowest round ever shot by an amateur on the PGA Tour.
Viktor Hovland - $9,900 (+2000)
Hovland famously turned pro here in 2020 and tied for 11th, setting the bar for high expectations that he recently has begun to fulfill. He admittedly was not a fan of last week's Los Angeles Country Club course for the U.S. Open, and still he tied for 19th. It also was the start right after he won the Memorial, so we'll cut him some slack for not registering a fourth straight major top-10. Hovland has not missed a cut anywhere in the world in almost a year.
Tier 2 Values
Tommy Fleetwood - $9,300 (+2500)
Be forewarned that Fleetwood will be a popular DFS play, and probably in one-and-done pools, too. He's in the low-$9,000s and coming off consecutive top-5s at the U.S. and Canadian Opens. He landed at No. 2 in our model because he's been great of late in all the key stats listed above -- including putting.
Hideki Matsuyama - $8,600 (+4000)
Matsuyama, with a lingering neck injury, has not had a WD or an MC since March. He's made eight straight cuts, five of which were top-25s. He tied for 32nd last week at the U.S. Open. Matsuyama was 21st in our model and, as usual, he would've been so much higher if not for his putter.
Jason Day - $8,400 (+5500)
Day has missed three straight cuts since winning the Byron Nelson. They were brutally hard tournaments -- two majors and the Memorial -- but Day clearly has exhaled after his first win in five years. His ownership should be depressed this week. But that's an opportunity at a track where he has excelled through the years with a T8, T10 and T12 in the past five years.
Tier 3 Values
Russell Henley - $7,800 (+3500)
Henley is a model of consistency and accuracy, from both the tee and the fairway. He's even consistent on the leaderboard: 14-16-16 in his past three starts. Henley finished 19th here in 2021 and sixth in 2018. He came in at ninth in our model, and would have been higher if not for his mediocre putting.
Keegan Bradley - $7,800 (+9000)
Bradley is only No. 44 in our model -- mostly because his normally lights-out approach play has been off. But one thing the model didn't consider is this native New Englander's affinity for Northeast courses. Bradley comes here every year and, while he has had some clunkers and missed cuts, he was 19th last year, runner-up in 2019 and eighth in 2017.
Harris English - $7,700 (+6500)
The 2021 winner tied for 19th in his title defense. That was English's third tournament back from hip surgery, and he was still far from being in form, yet he had a good week at River Highlands. English is coming off an excellent U.S. Open in which he tied for eighth.
Brian Harman - $7,500 (+6000)
Harman surprisingly was on the first page of the leaderboard for much of the first two days of the U.S. Open. Unsurprisingly, he wound up in 43rd place. It's been a terrible year for the diminutive left-hander. But it's impossible to ignore his history at River Highlands -- top-8 finishes four of the past five years and a third-place showing in 2015.
Austin Eckroat - $7,300 (+8000)
The danger with riding a hot player is that there's a chance the streak will end. And if it's a young player doing it for the first time, even more so. That said, we will continue to ride Eckroat after last week's spectacular top-10 at the U.S. Open -- especially at this price. The 24-year-old Oklahoma State alum has made six straight cuts and is playing quite well tee-to-green and decently on the putting surface.
Long-Shot Values
Mark Hubbard - $6,900 (+13000)
Hubbard enters the week with seven straight made cuts, including top-10s in two of his past three starts at the Charles Schwab and the Canadian Open. At the heart of his success has been his iron play -- he's ranked 16th on Tour in SG: Approach. Hubbard has played the Travelers five times and never missed a cut with a best of T13 in 2021.
Chez Reavie - $6,700 (+18000)
The 2019 winner who tied for eighth last year, Reavie has made eight of his past nine Travelers cuts. Overall this season, he's made seven of his past eight with a top-25 in Canada last time out.
Ben Martin - $6,700 (+35000)
Martin is ranked 11th on Tour in SG: Approach and 22nd in greens in regulation. He made eight straight cuts through the winter and spring before missing on two of his past three. Martin has played the Travelers twice before, but not since 2017, when he missed the cut.
Carson Young - $6,500 (+50000)
Young has surged over the past few months with a series of top-25s. He qualified for the U.S. Open but missed the cut, which isn't all that bad considering he'll be fresher than many other players in the field. This will be Young's Travelers debut.
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