73rd Travelers Championship
TPC River Highlands
Cromwell, Connecticut
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Mike Glasscott: Travelers Championship Tips
Win: Patrick Cantlay (18/1), Tony Finau (25/1)
Top 10: Brian Harman (14/5), Corey Conners (14/5)
Top 20: Keegan Bradley (13/10), Ben Griffin (23/10)
Tony Finau (-138) v Wyndham Clark
This matchup is a story of two players going in two different directions. Finau has rattled off seven consecutive cuts, including five paydays of T18 or better. After watching his on-course interview during the round on Saturday, he seems at peace with his life and game.
Clark became the first player since 2009 (Lucas Glover) to win the U.S. Open the first time he made the cut (third attempt). The defending champion has a win this season at Pebble Beach but has missed the cut in three of his last five events, including both majors and last week at Memorial. Tossing in the responsibilities of being the defending champion and the extra duties that come with all the requests before the event starts doesn’t leave much time to tune up the golf game.
Sepp Straka (-110) v Jason Day
If this was Jason Day circa 2014, I would be all over the Australian and his chances. Cashing five times in the top 10 from his first six attempts, the 2015 PGA Champion has only made two cuts in his last five starts at this major. His fantastic short game will get plenty of opportunities this week.
Straka is hotter than a match. Back-to-back T5 paydays at two of the most demanding tracks on TOUR, Muirfield Village, and Colonial added to his streak of T16 or better finishes since St. Patrick’s Day. The Austrian has not been bothered by big fields or difficult tracks and has a more well-rounded bag.
Matt Fitzpatrick (-125) v Max Homa
I’m keeping this one simple: I’m riding with the 2022 champion at The Country Club because he’s the better driver of the golf ball and it’s not close. Ranking ninth in Total Driving to Homa’s 90th, I’ll lean on the guy who can reduce stress off the tee. The U.S. Open is not an event to spray the ball everywhere off the tee is conducive to contending. In nine previous attempts, the Englishman has played the weekend. Homa, making his fifth start, has played the weekend once (T47) and owns at 73.92 scoring average.
Bet365: Top of the Board
Scottie Scheffler (7/2): At least it is something new and different this week! The last time the Texan finished outside the top 25 (T41 at Pinehurst) was last summer at the FedEx St. Jude Classic in the first FedExCup Playoffs event. Cashing T31, he returned the following week at The BMW Championship outside Chicago and finished T2. Last week, the books claimed their revenge for the first time since January. Our reward is getting him at the same price if we choose to play. Finishing in a share of fourth place last year, the five-time winner this season posted his best result from four visits.
Xander Schauffele (7/1): In 14 events this season, the PGA Championship winner has taken home money in the top 10 in all but three events. The 2022 champion at TPC River Highlands has never finished outside T20 in four events where he has played the weekend. With top-10 finishes in the two events after winning his first major, he does not appear distracted or satisfied.
Collin Morikawa (11/1): Returning to the event where he made his professional debut in 2019, that edition is the only one from three where he played the weekend. He won’t have to worry about the weekend this year since it’s a no-cut event, and he can focus on continuing his excellent play since the Masters. I’d expect his iron game to recalibrate and for him to contend.
Ludvig Aberg (12/1): The first two steps in a tournament that requires a low number to win are finding fairways and pinning GIR. He sits in the top 15 in SG: Tee to Green and is familiar with the track. Making his second start as a professional here last year, he cashed T24 after three rounds in the 60s.
Viktor Hovland (18/1): The Norwegian is getting closer, but missing the cut with 78-68 last week still has me scratching my head. Inconsistent iron play leads to having to scramble, and that’s not his strength. After hitting just 19 of 36 GIR last week, I’d expect a turnaround in a parkland setting.
Patrick Cantlay (18/1): Converging trends! An excellent week on approach at Pinehurst produced his best U.S. Open finish (T3) and should translate to TPC River Highlands. Last year, he cashed T4, his sixth consecutive T15 or better, yet a first top-10.
Hideki Matsuyama (25/1): The Japanese star closed 64-65-66 on debut last year for T13. Entering the week off back-to-back top-10 paydays on two difficult courses, his excellent 2024 rolls on.
Tony Finau (25/1): Over the last four events, his trend is T18-T17-T8-T3. The next step is returning to the winner’s circle. TPC River Highlands has produced up-and-down results, but as well as he is currently hitting it, I’d be surprised if he finished outside the top 10.
Players to consider for Top 10, Top 20, or Top 40 action:
Brian Harman (35/1): The 2023 runner-up picked up his sixth top-10 payday from his last nine starts. He’s the course horse this week.
Corey Conners (35/1): Last year, 17-under BARELY returned top-10 money (T9). The Canadian has had an excellent late spring and will represent his country in Paris at the Summer Olympics. Cashing in 17 straight this season, his last three (T9-T20-T6) contain both of his top-10 paydays.
Keegan Bradley (50/1): The last two winners have posted T19 in defense. The home game for the Vermont native should produce another big finish.
Cameron Young (70/1): The Westchester, New York, native will have plenty of fans in Cromwell. A home game plus a birdie fest should fire him up.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout (80/1): Sitting 13th SG: Total, he also makes plenty of birdies on Par-4 holes. Making his debut through the Aon Next 10, his form is what brought him to town.
Ben Griffin (100/1): The all-or-nothing results over his last six events explain the big number. Like Bezuidenhout, he’s an excellent putter and sits 10th in both Par-3 and Par-4 scoring.
NOW PLAYING: Travelers Championship
| Host Course | TPC River Highlands |
| Yards (per official scorecard): | 6,835. |
| Par: | 70 (35-35). |
| Greens: | Bent/Poa at 5,000 square feet on average. |
| Stimpmeter: | Pushing 12 feet. |
| Rough: | Kentucky Bluegrass and Fescue at four inches and growing. |
| Bunkers/Water Hazards/In-Play | 69/4/5. |
| Architect(s): | Ross & Kearney (1928); Pete Dye (1984); Bobby Weed (1989). |
| Defending Champion: | Keegan Bradley. |
| Multiple Champion(s) Entered: | None. |
| Course Record | 58; Jim Furyk (Round 4, 2016). |
| 72 Hole Tournament Record: | 257; 23-under; Keegan Bradley (2023). |
| Facts of the Week: | Only one international winner (Russell Knox) since 2013. |
TPC River Highlands
Since 1984, TPC River Highlands has provided the backdrop for the only annual PGA TOUR event contested in New England. Designed by Pete Dye and updated by Bobby Weed in 1989, the course underwent improvements before the 2016 edition and will have changes for 2024.
After being run over by Keegan Bradley last year, reaching 26-under-par with six holes to go before setting the tournament record at 23-under-par, the course has added features to crank up the difficulty.
The Par-5 holes, one on each nine, have added fescue-filled mounds off the fairway to challenge tee shots and approaches. Fairways have also been pinched in landing areas to reward more accurate tee shots. The tee box at No. 9 has shifted to bring the dog leg into play. The hole will play 17 yards shorter, and the square footage of the green shrank. On the back nine, Holes Nos. 11, 12, and 13 have toughened up to halt the scoring chances. The green at No. 11 has narrowed. The fairway at No. 12 now ends at 300 yards, forcing a decision. Like Hole No. 6 on the front, the Par-5 13th also has a narrowed fairway landing area and added mounds behind the bunkers to penalize wayward tee shots. The field of 156 players for the 2023 edition averaged 68.400, the easiest in history.
The last event with a winner posting single digits under par was in 1993.
Overlooking the Connecticut River, the parkland design plays up and down to only 6,835 yards. Port Royal Golf Course in Bermuda is the only track that is shorter.
The stock Par-70 features Bent/Poa mixed greens. Averaging just 5,000 square feet, only Pebble Beach and Harbour Town provide smaller targets on approach.
The return to Kentucky Bluegrass and Fescue rough at four inches and growing, plus water penalty areas on five holes, will provide different challenges than Pinehurst No. 2.
Jim Furyk set the PGA TOUR and course record of 58 in Round 4 of the 2016 event. He finished in a tie for fifth place.
Patrick Cantlay (2011), Mackenzie Hughes (2020), Denny McCarthy (2023), and Rickie Fowler (2023) have all posted rounds of 60.
Cantlay also posted 61 last year.
Bradley bested Kenny Perry’s mark of 22-under-par 258 by a shot last year.
Recent Winners
2023 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| Sentry Tournament of Champions | Jon Rahm |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Si Woo Kim |
| The AMERICAN EXPRESS | Jon Rahm (2) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Max Homa (2) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Justin Rose |
| WM Phoenix Open | Scottie Scheffler |
| The Genesis Invitational | Jon Rahm (3) |
| The Honda Classic | Chris Kirk |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Kurt Kitayama (first TOUR win) |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Taylor Moore (first TOUR win) |
| Corales Puntacana | Matt Wallace (first TOUR win) |
| WGC – Dell Technologies MP | Sam Burns |
| Valero Texas Open | Corey Conners |
| Masters | Jon Rahm (4) |
| RBC Heritage | Matt Fitzpatrick |
| Zurich Classic of New Orleans | Davis Riley & Nick Hardy (first TOUR win for each) |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Tony Finau (2) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Wyndham Clark (first TOUR win) |
| AT&T Byron Nelson | Jason Day |
| PGA Championship | Brooks Koepka |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Emiliano Grillo |
| Memorial | Viktor Hovland |
| RBC Canadian Open | Nick Taylor |
| U.S. Open | Wyndham Clark (2) |
| Travelers Championship | Keegan Bradley (2) |
| Rocket Mortgage Classic | Rickie Fowler |
| John Deere Classic | Sepp Straka |
| Genesis Scottish Open | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| The Open Championship | Brian Harman |
| 3M Open | Lee Hodges (first TOUR win) |
| Wyndham Championship | Lucas Glover |
| FedEx St. Jude Championship | Lucas Glover (2) |
| BMW Championship | Viktor Hovland (2) |
| TOUR Championship | Viktor Hovland (3) |
| Fortinet Championship | Sahith Theegala |
| Sanderson Farms Championship | Luke List |
| Shriners Children’s Open | Tom Kim |
| ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP | Collin Morikawa |
| World Wide Technology | Erik van Rooyen |
| Butterfield Bermuda | Camilo Villegas |
| The RSM Classic | Ludvig Aberg |
2024 Season Winners
| Event | Winner |
| The Sentry | Chris Kirk |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Grayson Murray |
| The American Express | Nick Dunlap (a) |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Matthieu Pavon (rookie) |
| AT&T Pebble Beach | Wyndham Clark (54 holes) |
| WM Phoenix Open | Nick Taylor |
| The Genesis Invitational | Hideki Matsuyama |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Jake Knapp (rookie) |
| Cognizant Classic | Austin Eckroat (first time) |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Scottie Scheffler (2) |
| Valspar Championship | Peter Malnati |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Stephan Jaeger (first time) |
| Valero Texas Open | Akshay Bhatia |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (3) |
| RBC Heritage | Scottie Scheffler (4) |
| Zurich Classic | Rory McIlroy & Shane Lowry |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Taylor Pendrith (first time) |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Rory McIlroy (2) |
| 106th PGA Championship | Xander Schauffele |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Davis Riley |
| RBC Canadian Open | Robert MacIntyre (first time) |
| The 49th Memorial Tournament | Scottie Scheffler (5) |
| 124th United States Open | Bryson DeChambeau |
Travelers Championship
The Travelers Championship dates to 1952 and will play for the 73rd time this week.
Four former champions are playing this week. Bradley, Schauffele, Harris English, and Jordan Spieth have all won one title.
The invitational field of 72 players includes 43 of the 50 in the Official World Golf rankings, led by No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
There is no cut in the eighth and final Signature Event.
There has not been an international winner since Russell Knox (not entered) in 2016.
Nine of the last 10 winners have ranked in the top 10 in SG: Tee to Green and Par-4 Scoring Average.
Ken Duke, the winner in 2013, was the last first-time winner on TOUR, completing a streak of four consecutive first-time winners from 2010 through 2013.
Jordan Spieth, champion of 2017 in a playoff, is the last player to win on debut. He is also one of two players this century to go wire-to-wire.
Usually played in June, the 2016 event was moved to August to accommodate the Rio de Janeiro Olympics.
The winner will take home 700 FedExCup points plus $3.6 million from the $20 million purse.
Recent Winners – Travelers Championship
Italics – not entered this week.
| Year | Winner | Notes |
| 2023 | Keegan Bradley (-23) | Sets the tournament scoring record and 54-hole record. |
| 2022 | Xander Schauffele (-19) | Held off best friend Patrick Cantlay in the final pairing to win by two. |
| 2021 | Harris English (-13*) | Defeated Kramer Hickok in a playoff. |
| 2020 | Dustin Johnson (-19) | Won by a shot over Kevin Streelman. |
| 2019 | Chez Reavie (-17) | Followed up his 3rd place finish at the U.S. Open with a victory. |
| 2018 | Bubba Watson (-17) | Won for the third time; won by three shots. |
| 2017 | Jordan Spieth (-12*) | Holed a bunker shot in a playoff to beat Daniel Berger. |
One and Done
I’ll be joining Spotter’s game again this season. Now, where did I put my checkbook…
35 events.
1 player per event (plus a backup pick if your guy gets kidnapped on Wednesday night and doesn’t make it to the first tee Thursday).
1 use per year.
Add up the total money and Spotter is yer uncle!
| Event | Selection | Earnings |
| The Sentry | Collin Morikawa | 690,500 |
| Sony Open in Hawaii | Corey Conners | 18,592 |
| The American Express | Adam Hadwin | 310,800 |
| Farmers Insurance Open | Jason Day | 0 |
| AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am | Jordan Spieth | 70,125 |
| WM Phoenix Open | Matt Fitzpatrick | 156,200 |
| The Genesis Invitational | Max Homa | 329,000 |
| Mexico Open at Vidanta | Tony Finau | 145,125 |
| Cognizant Classic | Russell Henley | 32,850 |
| Arnold Palmer Invitational | Scottie Scheffler | 4,000,000 |
| THE PLAYERS Championship | Will Zalatoris | 0 |
| Valspar Championship | Sam Burns | 0 |
| Texas Children’s Houston Open | Wyndham Clark | 54,418 |
| Valero Texas Open | C Bezuidenhout | 67,735 |
| 88th Masters Tournament | Rory McIlroy | 175,500 |
| RBC Heritage | Patrick Cantlay | 1,160,000 |
| Zurich Classic | Nick Taylor | 122,375 |
| THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson | Stephan Jaeger | 112,100 |
| Myrtle Beach Classic | Daniel Berger | 20,350 |
| Wells Fargo Championship | Sahith Theegala | 47,000 |
| 106th PGA Championship | Brooks Koepka | 113,962 |
| Charles Schwab Challenge | Taylor Moore | 0 |
| RBC Canadian Open | Mackenzie Hughes | 295,316 |
| 49th Memorial Tournament | Ben An | 200,200 |
| 124th United States Open | Xander Schauffele | 639,289 |
| Total Winnings: | 8,761,437 |
His game has more fun stuff to it. Reach out @A340Spotter on Twitter or A340Spotter@frontier.com for more details and to join.
Recapping Last Week – 124th United States Open
No need to save guys anymore.
MY CHOICE: Xander Schauffele – T7
The plan from the start of the season was to use him at Pinehurst and here we are.
With a win already under his belt and a MAJOR CHAMPIONSHIP on the mantle, he should be free to go about his business and run down Scheffler.
His amazing run of eight straight championship finishes of T14 or better continues.
I did not believe DeChambeau could bomb-and-gouge through the sandy areas, wiregrass, and repellant greens.
I was wrong.
Others to Consider:
Scottie Scheffler – T41. I’m sorry to all of you who saved this selection for Pinehurst. Amazing it was his first finish outside T17 this season. Unlucky.
Collin Morikawa – T14. Unable to string two rounds together, another big finish, but not big enough.
Brooks Koepka – The wrong LIV guy.
Matt Fitzpatrick – The ol’ 79-69 weekend never works out.
Hideki Matsuyama – Solo sixth, excellent job.
Tommy Fleetwood – Another top 20 in a major championship. Another major championship where he did not contend.
This Week – Travelers Championship
The final Signature Event!
MY CHOICE: Brian Harman
When you are as bad as I am, you play the SAFEST play, not the guy you believe will win.
I hate this game.
There are two theories this week. Play the hot guys or play guys who didn’t have to grind all four rounds in 90-plus-degree temperatures at Pinehurst.
Here are the winners from the first seven Signature Events:
Chris Kirks (Sentry)
Wyndham Clark (Pebble Beach)
Hideki Matsuyama (Genesis)
Scottie Scheffler (Arnold Palmer)
Scottie Scheffler (RBC Heritage)
Rory McIlroy (Wells Fargo)
Scottie Scheffler (Memorial)
Pretty thicc.
Others to Consider (from who I have available):
Hideki Matsuyama: I can’t argue his form or course form. The last time he played three weeks in a row he cashed T71. The fourth week in a row? He won The Genesis Invitational.
Ludvig Aberg: At some point, I’ll pull the trigger. Some will argue it should be this week. I’m pointing to the demanding TPC Southwind in the first round of the FedExCup Playoffs.
Justin Thomas: Saving him for the hottest dog days of summer.
Tommy Fleetwood: Passport events only.
Keegan Bradley: The defending champion usually plays well in this part of the world. I will not talk you out of playing him, but nobody has defended the title here since Mickelson in 2001-02.
Sepp Straka: Too many good results in too many big events.
Glass Houses 