The PGA Tour doesn’t skip a beat, and we’ve got another star-studded field for the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands this weekend. It’s the eighth and final signature event of the season, with World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler once again holding as the betting favorite in the Travelers Championship odds.
Xander Schauffele, Rory McIlroy, Collin Morikawa, and Ludvig Aberg form the secondary tier of favorites. I break down my favorite plays in our free golf picks for the week below.
Best Travelers Championship picks
- Hovland to win outright (+2,200 at FanDuel)
- Finau to win outright (+4,000 at FanDuel)
- Henley Top 20 (+100 at bet365)
- Conners Top 20 (+110 at FanDuel)
- Cantlay Round 1 Under 67.5 (+115 at Caesars)
Travelers Championship outright picks
Pick to win: Viktor Hovland to win outright (+2,200 at FanDuel)
An opening-round 78 did Viktor Hovland in last week at the U.S. Open, but he rebounded in Round 2 with a 68 while ranking second in true strokes gained approach and 10th from tee to green. His work-around remains a weakness, but the rest of his game remains elite. He’s also made the cut in this event in each of his three trips and topped out with a T11 finish in 2020.
He's also gained true strokes off-the-tee and on approach in four consecutive events to respectively rank second and fifth in the metrics in this field leading into the Travelers, and I’m expecting his elite tee and iron game to give him oodles of birdie looks this week. I also think we’re landing a slightly longer price than we should be simply because of one poor round at a course that isn’t the best fit for his game.
Sleeper pick: Tony Finau to win outright (+4,000 at FanDuel)
Tony Finau can overpower this track and he’s rolled off four consecutive Top-20 finishes, including a statement T3 showing at the U.S. Open where he paced the field in true strokes gained on approach and was second in true strokes gained tee-to-green. The strong ball-striking is nothing new, either. Finau ranks fifth and seventh in this field in the respective metrics across his past 16 events.
It's particularly encouraging that he’s gained true strokes on the greens in each of his past two events and he's also fired in the 60s in eight of his past nine rounds at TPC River Highlands. Along with an outright play, I'm eyeing Tony in the Top-20 market, with Caesars offering the best available number at +126.
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Travelers Championship prop picks
Finishing position pick: Russell Henley Top 20 (+100 at bet365)
TPC River Highlands plays short, so Russell Henley’s lack of distance off the tee is mitigated this week. He’s matched an elite statistical profile with a sterling string of finishes, including three Top-10 results across his past seven events. Henley’s coming off the impressive T7 at the U.S. Open and also finished T10 and T12 in signature-event fields at the Wells Fargo and RBC Heritage.
The four-time PGA Tour winner ranks 10th in true strokes gained tee-to-green, 15th in true strokes gained putting, and fifth in driving accuracy in this field during the noted seven-tournament heater. Henley’s also had success at this track, posting consecutive T19s in his past two visits, and also has a T6 and T11 on his resume.
FanDuel has the longest number on his outright odds at +3,500, which is also in play this week.
Finishing position pick: Corey Conners Top 20 (+110 at FanDuel)
Look for another strong showing from Corey Conners this week. He’s carded four Top 20s across his past five events with the outlier being a T26 at the PGA Championship. His ball-striking numbers are even more impressive, too. Conners ranks third in true strokes gained on approach, fourth in true strokes gained tee-to-green, and 11th in driving accuracy in this field during the five-event surge.
I also value the Canadian firing four rounds in the 60s here last year for a T9 finish while finishing fourth in true strokes gained on approach and fifth in true strokes gained tee-to-green. Conners finishing 19th in true strokes gained putting at Pinehurst last week is another positive heading into the Travelers. His game is dialed in.
Travelers Championship first-round pick
Round 1 pick: Patrick Cantlay Under 67.5 (+115 at Caesars)
Patrick Cantlay heads to the Travelers off a T3 showing at the U.S. Open and played well in this event last year with a T4 finish. He gained true strokes across the board last week at Pinehurst, including ranking third on approach. His ball-striking was also on point at the 2023 Travelers. He paced the field in true strokes gained tee-to-green and ranked third in true strokes gained on approach.
Travelers Championship odds
- Scottie Scheffler (+400)
- Rory McIlroy (+850)
- Xander Schauffele (+850)
- Collin Morikawa (+1,200)
- Ludvig Aberg (+1,400)
- Viktor Hovland (+2,000)
- Patrick Cantlay (+2,200)
- Hideki Matsuyama (+2,800)
- Sam Burns (+3,500)
- Justin Thomas (+3,500)
Odds courtesy of DraftKings.
