It was a tough week for BYB golf followers at the RBC Heritage on the weekend as we missed all of our best bets in a event that threw up a few surprises. We’ll be looking to recapture some of the form from the week before as we head to the famous TPC River Highlands for the annual Travelers Championship starting on Thursday night.
As usual, we have a full preview and betting tips for the PGA Tour action below.
Travelers Championship Betting Tips
For the third week in a row, the top players in the world will be in action as the field for the Travelers looks to be extremely strong once again. If the break in the PGA Tour for the COVID-19 pandemic has produced one positive, its that we are seeing the top ranked players undertake a heightened schedule as they attempt to regain form and secure FedEx Cup points before the all important playoffs in August.
The Field
Nine of the top 10 players in the official world golf rankings will be teeing it up this week, with the only one set to miss being Australian Adam Scott. No.9 ranked player in the world, Patrick Cantlay, will compete in his first tournament since the season resumed, and will be surrounded by a host of top level talent.
The one glaring omission from the PGA Tour events since it’s resumption continues to be Tiger Woods. Woods was rumoured to play last week at the RBC Heritage but opted to skip it and it looks as though he will not suit up for the Travelers either.
FedExCup points will be at a premium this weekend, as all of the top 10 ranked players in the standings will be playing. Points leader Sung Jae Im had a disappointing result in Harbour Town last weekend and will be desperate to bounce back to maintain his lead.
The Course
Another Pete Dye concoction, TPC River Highlands will serve its 37th year as a PGA Tour host with the Travelers Championship this week. It is one of the shorter courses on tour at only 6,841 yards as a Par 70. The three hole stretch from the 15th-17th is commonly known as the ‘Golden Triangle’ which includes a drivable Par 4 followed by two holes with water in play.
Considering how short the course is, the fairways at River Highlands annually rank amongst the easiest to hit on tour as players are able to take fairways or irons off a lot of the tees. Scoring is key here, and it’s well within reason to expect another score of -20 or better to win this week after Webb Simpson won in Harbour Town with a score of -22 on the weekend.
Key stats we’ll be targeting this weekend are total strokes gained, scoring average and strong approach play from inside 125 yards.
Tips
NOTE: Listed below are only the win odds of our tips because the Top 10/20/30 markets have not been released yet. Check back later in the week for updated tips including these markets.
Liking the look of a few of the top guys this weekend and also a few guys down the markets for value.
The first I can’t get enough of is Justin Thomas. Thomas is one of the best pure scorers on tour, ranking 5th in SG: total and 8th in SG: approach. He hasn’t had a myriad of success at the Travelers in the past, with just one top 10 finish in his last six trips, however, TPC River Highlands has been an annual stop for him for the past five years now, so he knows the course as well as anyone. Has recorded two top 10 finishes since the PGA Tour returned with a T10 at the Charles Schwab followed by a T8 at the RBC on the weekend. Is in fantastic touch and should be in the mix on Sunday.
Bryson DeChambeau has been arguably the most in form golfer since the tour resumed, recording a T8 at the Charles Schwab followed by a 3rd at the RBC last week. His long driving stats that are historic wont be on display this week but he showed at Harbour Town that he can be just as competitive on a shorter course. He has been great in his last two trips to TPC River Highlands, finishing T8 in 2019 and T9 in 2018.
When you think about TPC River Highlands, one name comes to mind, and that’s Bubba Watson. The 46th ranked player in the world has won the Travelers Championship on three separate occasions in 2010, 2015 and 2018 and has added another three top 10 finishes since the 2008 season. Bubba is a high level scorer and showed some great form at the Charles Schwab a few weeks, finishing T7 and shot 65 in the final round of the RBC on Sunday.
Paul Casey makes his return to the PGA Tour season this week after missing the Charles Schwab and the RBC over the past two weeks. Regardless of the amount of golf he has played of late, we feel Casey is a great value bet this weekend due to his fantastic form at TPC River Highlands in the past. Casey has played the event the last five years in a row and in that stretch he has racked up finishes of 2nd, 17th, 5th, 2nd and 5th.
