This article is part of our PGA Tour Stats Review series.
With the major championships behind us the PGA Tour season rolls on this week with the Travelers Championship. This event normally takes place the week after the U.S. Open, but this year is the week following the PGA and boasts a fairly strong field.
Back to Jimmy Walker
So, how did Jimmy Walker pick up his first major title? His putter woke up. Always a strong ball striker, he finished 10th in strokes gained-putting after ranking 46th in that stat for the season. He was also second in strokes gained-around the green, and with solid rankings of 30th off the tee and 15th approach to the green, used that to have his most consistent game in months. In the end he showed the tenacity to withstand 36 holes on Sunday and walked away with his first major title.
Ryder Cup Pressure for Olympians
Of the four U.S. Olympians, three – Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar – are in the field this week in Hartford. This is important because all four, with Rickie Fowler the other, are on the outside looking in for the Ryder Cup. Because they'll miss at least one PGA Tour event being in Rio, it could hurt them in trying to make the team on points and give Davis Love III some interesting conundrums when making captain's picks in a couple weeks. What would help their cause majorly is a win this week in Hartford.
While Watson is the defending champion and has won here
With the major championships behind us the PGA Tour season rolls on this week with the Travelers Championship. This event normally takes place the week after the U.S. Open, but this year is the week following the PGA and boasts a fairly strong field.
Back to Jimmy Walker
So, how did Jimmy Walker pick up his first major title? His putter woke up. Always a strong ball striker, he finished 10th in strokes gained-putting after ranking 46th in that stat for the season. He was also second in strokes gained-around the green, and with solid rankings of 30th off the tee and 15th approach to the green, used that to have his most consistent game in months. In the end he showed the tenacity to withstand 36 holes on Sunday and walked away with his first major title.
Ryder Cup Pressure for Olympians
Of the four U.S. Olympians, three – Bubba Watson, Patrick Reed and Matt Kuchar – are in the field this week in Hartford. This is important because all four, with Rickie Fowler the other, are on the outside looking in for the Ryder Cup. Because they'll miss at least one PGA Tour event being in Rio, it could hurt them in trying to make the team on points and give Davis Love III some interesting conundrums when making captain's picks in a couple weeks. What would help their cause majorly is a win this week in Hartford.
While Watson is the defending champion and has won here twice – so always a prohibitive favorite – I want to focus on Reed, whose game is coming around a bit. He's gone T12-T13 in his last two starts, both majors, and last week at Baltusrol ranked 10th in strokes gained-approach to the green and 31st in strokes gained-putting. Up those numbers a tad and Reed could be a much more relaxed player in Rio.
Other Olympians
There are three other Olympians teeing it up this week in Hartford: Alex Cejka (Germany), Padraig Harrington (Ireland) and Soren Kjeldsen (Denmark). None has exactly lit it up lately, though Harrington did make a run early Sunday at the PGA Championship and for the week ranked 16th in strokes gained-putting. If that club stays hot, he could be a champion again this week.
Other Players in the Field
Watson beat Paul Casey in a playoff last year and he's back this time around along with Branden Grace, Louis Oosthuizen, John Rahm, Bryson DeChambeau, Jamie Donaldson, Ernie Els, Tony Finau, Jim Furyk, Zach Johnson, the injured Brooks Koepka fighting for his Ryder Cup spot, Hunter Mahan, Webb Simpson and Justin Thomas.
I recommend Grace and Rahm. Grace nearly put himself in prime position for a playoff at Baltusrol, coming up just short after shooting a Sunday 67 that got him to 9-under. For the week he ranked 20th in strokes gained-off the tee and second in strokes gained-approach to the green. That combo could lead him to his second PGA Tour win this week if he's on.
Rahm, meanwhile, has secured a PGA Tour card for next year and special temporary membership for the time being but needs to win to become a PGA Tour member immediately and be eligible for the FedEx Cup Playoffs. So, the incentive is certainly there for him to pick up the W. In his last start at the RBC Canadian Open where he finished T2 to get the temporary membership he was 10th in strokes gained-putting and second in strokes gained-off the tee – a lethal combination.
The Weather
Weather for the Travelers Championship is expected to be sunny with temperatures in the 80s and light winds, except for Saturday when thunderstorms could threaten.
