This article is part of our Yahoo PGA DFS Picks series.
Travelers Championship
Cromwell, Connecticut
TPC River Highlands - Par 70 - 6,835 yards
Field - 71 entrants
Purse - $20M
The Preview
It's the first time all year that we've had three Signature Events in a row, and with some having also played the RBC Canadian Open the week prior, we're going to have some tired golfers in the field. Even so, Rory McIlroy -- following a heartbreaking finish at Pinehurst -- is the only notable name taking the week off. The Travelers always receives massive attendance numbers, and the short Pete Dye design opens it up for any style of play to win. It's one of only a few courses the PGA Tour visits under 7,000 yards, and players aren't often required to use driver off the tee with only two par-4s over 450 yards and eight dogleg holes. It's imperative to be in the fairway, as the rough is thick, and the course is quite scoreable if you keep the ball in the short grass. Iron play is key and golfers will hit many approach shots in the 125-175 yard range. Note that there is no cut this week.
Recent Champions
2023 – Keegan Bradley
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
Key Stats to Victory
SG: Approach
Driving Accuracy
Birdie or Better Percentage
Yahoo Value Picks
Based on $200 salary cap
Cream of the Crop
Scottie Scheffler - $45
Thinking of fading Scheffler coming off by far his worst finish of the season is a risky proposition. He had a horrific week on the greens at the U.S. Open, ranking 70th out of 74 golfers in SG: Putting. Overall, he's been solid with the mallet putter this year, and he was fourth in SG: Approach at Pinehurst. Scheffler finished in a share for fourth here last year and was second in SG: Tee-to-green, so the venue certainly fits his game.
Patrick Cantlay - $40
Cantlay surprised a lot of people last week by contending at the U.S. Open, continuing a year in which he's been hit-or-miss. Going to a place where he's posted six straight top-15s including a career-best T4 last year feels like a good opportunity to keep the momentum going. Cantlay led the field in SG: Tee-to-green here last year and was third on approach last week.
Glue Guys
Justin Thomas - $35
Thomas is coming off a disappointing missed cut at the U.S. Open – his fourth missed cut over his last five majors. This will be a much easier test, however, and he's posted a pair of top-10s at the event including last year where he was second in SG: Approach. Thomas ranks in the top-10 in SG: Approach and around-the-green this year and has three top-15s in Signature Events. This is a good bounceback spot.
Tom Kim - $31
Kim will be making his second appearance at the event, finishing T38 as he struggled with his short game but was 12th in SG: Approach. He hasn't missed a cut in over two months, and while he won't have to worry about that this week, it shows that his all-around game is in much better form. He's gained shots with his ball striking in five straight tournaments, highlighted by a T4 at the Memorial.
Si Woo Kim - $26
It's easy to overlook Kim as with only one top-10 on the year, you don't see him on the TV coverage much, if at all. However, his overall consistency has been quite impressive with eight top-20s over his last 14 starts. Considering he's sixth in SG: Tee-to-green this season, it seems like he's long overdue to find himself in contention. He's also sixth in driving accuracy – a key stat at TPC River Highlands.
Bargain Bin
Corey Conners - $22
Conners is just $2 over the minimum salary, which is pretty surprising considering over his last five starts the worst result he recorded was a T26 at the PGA Championship. During that run he finished sixth in his home country's event and was T9 last week at Pinehurst. Conners is also coming off a top-10 at this event last year in which he was fourth in SG: Approach.
Emiliano Grillo - $22
It's been a tale of two seasons for Grillo in 2024 – across his first eight starts he posted five top-25s but hasn't been able to record another in eight starts since. The short game has abandoned him recently, but he's gained strokes on approach in five consecutive tournaments. Grillo is also coming off his best career finish at the event last year, notably ranking 10th in SG: Approach and gained shots with his short game.
Brendon Todd - $20
Todd ranks third to last on the season in driving distance, so this is one of the courses he's not at much of a disadvantage at. He's one of the most accurate drivers on Tour with a strong short game. Todd has posted a couple of top-10s this year, one of which came at a Signature Event. He has a best finish of T11 at the event back in 2020.
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