What a U.S. Open! We had a great week as we caught Matt Fitzpatrick at 30-1 to win. He became the first player since Danny Willet in 2016 to win a major-championship as his first PGA Tour Victory. In addition to the outright winner we went 1/2 in Top 20 and Top 40 placements bringing out weekly total to +7.43 Units.
This is the first year since the COVID-19 Pandemic began that the Travelers will have full attendance. Historically, it’s been one of the most attended tournaments on Tour so it should be a great atmosphere. TPC River Highlands is a shorter course but, can still pose a challenge to players. In the past few years, we’ve seen the weather being the determining factor and given the early forecast, it could turn into a birdie-fest.
Tournament Information:
- Dates: June 23rd, 2022 – June 26th, 2022
- Location: Cromwell, Connecticut, United States
- Course: TPC River Highlands
- Course Type: Northeast
- Par: 70 (4x 3’s / 12x 4’s / 2x 5’s)
- Length: 6,852 yards
- Format: 72 hole stroke play
- Field/ Cut: 156 Players | Top 65 and Ties after 36 Holes
- Greens: Bentgrass/ Poa annua .110″
- Fairways: Bentgrass/ Poa annua .375″
- Rough: Kentucky bluegrass/ fescue 4″+
- Stimpmeter: 12 ft.
- Purse: $8,300,000 / $1,494,000 Winner
- FedEx Cup Points: 500
- Bunkers: 69
- Water Hazards: 4 (In-Play on 5 Holes)
- Average Green Size: 5,000 sq. ft.
- Course Scoring Average:
- 2021: 69.74 (-0.26), Rank 22 of 51
- 2020: 68.63 (-1.37), Rank 32 of 41
- 2019: 69.72 (-0.28), Rank 19 of 49
- Historic Cut Line:
- 2021: -2
- 2020: -4
- 2019: -2
Course Architect/ Comparable Courses:
- Course Architect: Robert Ross/ Maurice Kearney (1928)
- Renovation: Pete Dye (1982), Bobby Weed (1989)
- Comparable Courses:
TV Information:
- Round 1: Thursday, June 23rd, 2022
- Golf Channel – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET
- Round 2: Friday, June 24th, 2022
- Golf Channel – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET
- Round 3: Saturday, June 25th, 2022
- Golf Channel – 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
- CBS – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET
- Round 4: Sunday, June 26th, 2022
- Golf Channel – 1:00 PM – 3:00 PM ET
- CBS – 3:00 PM – 6:00 PM ET
Weather:
- Thursday: Showers 67 F, 7 mp/h ESE, 78% Humidity, 60% Chance of Rain
- Friday: Partly Cloudy 72 F, 7 mp/h NNW, 63% Humidity, 20% Chance of Rain
- Saturday: Partly Cloudy 76 F, 8 mp/h SW, 59% Humidity, 20% Chance of Rain
- Sunday: Partly Cloudy 77 F, 11 mp/h S, 60% Humidity, 20% Chance of Rain
Course/ Tournament History:
TPC River Highlands was founded in 1928 and was known back then as Middletown Golf Club. Just six years later, the course underwent another name change to Edgewood Country Club. In the early 1980’s the club was purchased by the PGA Tour and underwent a renovation that redesigned the course to TPC standards. With the renovation came another name change and in 1984, the club became known was TPC of Connecticut. Five years later, the course would undergo another renovation and became known as TPC River Highlands.
The tournament itself was founded in 1952 and originally held at Wethersfield Country Club, a few miles north of the current location.
Since 1984, TPC River Highlands has been the host course for the Travelers Championship. Just like the course itself, the tournament has underwent several name changes as well including the Buick Championship and Greater Hartford Open.
Dating to 2010, five of the last twelve Travelers Championships have come down to a playoff. In the past twelve years at TPC River Highlands, Bubba Watson has won three times here. His first victory was back in 2010 with his most recent win coming in 2018.
In 2021, Harris English defeated Kramer Hickok in a sudden-death playoff on the 8th hole. That playoff was tied for the second longest sudden-death playoff in PGA Tour history.
Following last years tournament, a new professional tee was added on Hole No. 17 increasing the length from 420 to 431.
72-Hole Record: 258, Kenny Perry (2019)
18-Hole Record: 58, Jim Furyk (4th Round, 2016)
Most tournament wins: (4) Billy Casper: 1963, 1965, 1968, 1973
Course Guide/ Scorecard:
TPC River Highlands is a Par 70 that plays 6,852 yards. In terms of length it’s one of the shortest courses on Tour. Looking back at past winners, it’s been a mix of players who’ve found success. We’ve had players who aren’t long off the tee such as Chez Reavie win but, we’ve also had bombers such as DJ take home the trophy as well.
Going off that, there’s one of two approaches that players take off the tee. For the guys who don’t have the distance, they’ll usually club down and focus on finding the fairway. With the rough playing 4″+ it’s some of the most penal rough on Tour. Opposite of that approach, we’ve had guys take more aggressive lines off the tee to limit their approach shots.
The course features, four Par 3’s, twelve Par 4’s, and just two Par 5’s. Starting with the Par 3’s, two of the four play 200+ yards ( No. 5, No. 8). Three of the four Par 3’s played over par last year with the only hole playing under par being No. 11.Hole No. 11 is a downhill par 3 that has bunkers on the front right guarding the green.
Out of all of those Par 3’s with a scoring average over par, No. 5 is the most difficult. Hole No. 5 is the longest playing 223 yards that requires a great approach shot to avoid a difficult birdie putt.
Holes No. 6 and No. 13 are the two Par 5’s on TPC River Highlands. Both of these holes had a scoring average below par last year.
No. 6 is a dog-leg right that plays 574 yards. Only the longest hitters will be able to reach the green in 2. Others will hit a wedge shot around 100 yards that will require some precise accuracy for an easy birdie look.
No. 13 is 523 yards that most plays should be able to reach in 2. However, accuracy off the tee is required as water is to the right and the left is out-of-bounds. On players approach shots they’ll need to be wary of the water the surrounds the green along the front left.
Out of the twelve Par 4’s at TPC River Highlands, six of the holes had a scoring average over par last year. The most difficult hole was No 4 that had an average of 4.196 strokes. No. 4 is the longest Par 4 playing 481 yards that requires two great shots to reach the green in regulation.
For a hole-by-hole overview of the course, you can click the following link.
Key Statistics:
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Strokes Gained: Putting (Bentgrass & Poa annua)
- Strokes Gained: Tee to Green
- Par 4 Scoring: 400- 450 Yards
- Birdie or Better %
- Strokes Gained: Around the Green
- Scrambling %
- Course History
The Field/ Odds:
Given the week after a major-championship the field can be a little questionable. However, we have a pretty decent field this week with five of the top 10 players in the OGWR are teeing it up at TPC River Highlands.
Rory McIlroy (+900), is one of the co-favorites this week in Connecticut. He’s played in the Travelers three times before with an average score of 67.50 per round. McIlroy did not participate in last years event with his best finishing coming in 2020 where he finished 11th. In those three appearances at TPC River Highlands, McIlroy has yet to finish T17 or worse. Rory’s coming off a T5 finish last week at the U.S. Open and captured the RBC Canadian Open the week prior. In his last five starts he hasn’t finished outside the top-20.
Scottie Scheffler (+900), is another co-favorite this week at the Travelers. He’s played in this event two times before, missing the cut in 2020 and finishing T47 in 2021. Scheffler already has four victories to his name this season. Last week he finished one behind Fitzpatrick at the U.S. Open. Since the cut at the PGA Championship, he has finished 2/ T18/ T2 in his last three starts.
Justin Thomas (+1000), will be making his eighth appearance at the Travelers Championship this week. Out of those seven starts at TPC River Highlands, his best finish was T3 back in 2016. Since then he has finished outside the top 40 every year and has missed the cut twice. One reason to back JT this week is his recent form. He won the PGA Championship, then finished 3rd at the RBC Canadian Open two starts later. However, Thomas did struggle at The Country Club last week finishing T37. JT just W/D.
Patrick Cantlay (+1400), has been playing some great golf as of late that feels under the radar. In his last five starts, these have been his finishing positions 2/ 1/ CUT/ T3/ T14. To be fair, that win came at the Zurich Open which is a team play event. Even with that said, in his last four stroke play events he has two two-5’s and one top-20. Cantlay has played in this event seven times before and has finished inside the top-20 in each his last four appearances.
Other previous winners in the field; Harris English (’21), Chez Reavie (’19), Jordan Spieth (’17), Russell Knox (’16), Kevin Streelman (’14), Marc Leishman (’12), J.J. Henry (’06), and Stewart Cink (’97,’08).
Notable Withdraws: Will Zalatoris, Patrick Rodgers, Russell Henley, Erik Van Rooyen, Brooks Koepka, Justin Thomas
To see the most up to date odds, you can click the following link.
To find out how everyone in the field has qualified, you can click the following link.
Horses For Courses:
Brooks Koepka (+4000), has finished inside the top-20 in three of his last four appearances at TPC River Highlands. Two of those finishes were actually inside the top-10. Brooks last played in this event in 2021, where he recorded his best finish at the Travelers Championship, T5. Brooks just W/D.
Brian Harman (+4000), has finished inside the top-8 in three of his last four starts at TPC River Highlands. In his lone finish outside the top-8 during that span, he missed the cut in 2020.
Jason Day (+8000), has finished inside the top-12 in three of his last four starts at TPC River Highlands. He’s made the cut in each of his last five starts on Tour and finished inside the top-20 twice during that span.
Kevin Kisner (+10000), has finished inside the top-15 in two of his last three Travelers appearances. In his lone finish outside the top-15, he missed the cut in 2020. While he does have a great course history, Kisner has missed the cut in each of his last four starts on Tour.
Zach Johnson (+25000), has finished inside the top-25 in each of his last three appearances at the Travelers Championship. He finished 19th in 2018, missed the tournament in 2019, and finished T11 and T25 in the past two years. Just like Kisner, be careful playing Zach Johnson this week as he has missed the cut in three of his last four starts. However, in his most recent tournament he finished T23 at the Charles Schwab Challenge.
Trending Towards a Win at the Travelers:
Sam Burns (+1800), has improved on his finishing position every year in his last three Travelers Championships. In 2019, he made his debut appearance and finished 43rd. The following year he finished T24 and in 2021, he finished T13.
In the 2021-22 season, Burns has won three PGA Tour events including the Sanderson Farms Championship, the Valspar Championship, and most recently the Charles Schwab Challenge. Last week he finished T27th in the U.S. Open but, in the week prior he finished T4 at the RBC Canadian Open. His game’s been absolutely incredible this year and if his ball-striking is on, he should have a great week.
Previous Winners Scores & Prices:
- 2021: Harris English (-13)
- Price: 45-1
- 2020: Dustin Johnson (-19)
- Price: 30-1
- 2019: Chez Reavie (-17)
- Price: 70-1
- 2018: Bubba Watson (-17)
- Price: 33-1
- 2017: Jordan Spieth (-12)
- Price: 10-1
- 2016: Russell Knox (-14)
- Price: 50-1
Picks (Outright):
- Xander Schauffele (+2200) – Pointsbet
- Risk 0.37 to win 8.14 Units
Xander has been great in his past four starts finishing inside the top-20 in each event. He’s played at the Travelers three times before making the cut twice. In 2017, he finished T14 and in 2020, he placed T20. Schauffele was not a participant in last years event.
Currently, he ranks inside the top-38 in SG: OTT, SG: APP, SG: ATG, and SG: T2G. His putting can be iffy sometimes but in he’s gained strokes on the green in four of his last five starts.
- Jordan Spieth (+2500) – Pointsbet
- Risk 0.32 to win 8.00 Units
Spieth won the RBC Heritage at Harbour Town earlier this season, a course comp for this week. Since winning that event, he has yet to miss a cut finishing inside the top-40 in each of those tournaments. Spieth won the Travelers back in 2017 and hasn’t captured that same success since at TPC River Highlands.
Jordan’s one of the best players in the world and ranks highly in nearly every strokes gained category besides putting. In terms of SG: Putting he ranks 151st but has gained strokes on the green in three of his last five events. Oddly enough, when he won the RBC Heritage he was awful with the flat stick losing half a stroke putting. When he does gain strokes putting, he obviously does much better but we’ve seen him rely on other parts of his game to win.
Sungjae Im (+3500) – DraftKings(Sungjae Im just W/D)Risk 0.23 to win 8.05 Units
I was on Sungjae last week and of course he misses his first cut for the first time in nine events. Last week, he lost strokes on approach but, gained strokes in every other category. Sungjae Im won the Shriners Children’s Open earlier this season and has nine top-20’s in individual stroke play tournaments since. He’s played in the Travelers twice before but, skipped last years event. In 2019, he finished T21 and in 2020, he finished 58th.
He ranks inside the top-12 in SG: OTT, SG: ATG, and SG: T2G. His two areas of concern are his approach play (which was saw last week) and putting. Despite that, Im has gained strokes on approach in four of his last five tournaments and has gained strokes on the green in two of those events. His approach play drives his success so if he can find those greens, he should do well. Even if he can’t his short game should allow him to compete.
- Mito Pereira (+5000) – Pointsbet
- Risk 0.16 to win 8.00 Units
Mito will be making his Travelers Championship debut this week. He struggled last week at The Country Club missing the cut. Prior to that, he had finished inside the top-20 in each of his last four starts.
He ranks inside the top-12 in SG: OTT, SG: APP, and SG: T2G. The flaw of his game this year has been his play around and on the green. Despite missing the cut last week, Mito has gained strokes around the green in six of his last seven starts. In terms of putting, he’s gained strokes in his last two of his last four starts. We’ve seen playing players making their debut at TPC River Highlands win before. If Mito can put together a performance like he did at Southern Hills, I like his chances this week to capture his first victory on Tour.
[LIVE ADD – POST RD 1] Scottie Scheffler +1900 – FanDuel (Risk 0.23 to win 4.37)
Total Risk on Outrights: 1.08 Units
Picks (Top 20):
- Joaquin Niemann (+165) – PointsBet
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.65 Units
Niemann won his second PGA Tour event earlier this season at Riviera. He’s played here at TPC River Highlands three times before. His best finish coming in 2019 when he finished T6. In his two other appearances, he finished T63 and T36.
Currently, he ranks inside the top-24 in SG: OTT, SG: APP, SG: ATG, and SG: T2G. What he struggles is with his putting. In the beginning of the season, he lost strokes on the green in three of his first four events. If we look at a more recent sample size, he has gained strokes in that category in five of his last six starts. He lost nearly a stroke putting at the U.S. Open but still managed to finish T47.
- Brian Harman (+175) – Caesars
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.75 Units
We played Harman last week for T40 and going into Sunday, I thought it was pretty sure thing. However, he decided to shoot 8 over to finish T43. I’m backing him against this week at a course he’s had success at in the past. He’s has finished inside the top-8 in three of his last four starts at TPC River Highlands.
Unlike most of my other placements this week, Harman does struggle with his iron play. He currently ranks 120th strokes gained on approach. After losing strokes in this category in his first five starts this season, he has turned it around and gained strokes on approach in four of his last five events. Outside of approach, he ranks inside the top-66 in SG: OTT, SG: ATG, and SG: Putting. One area of his game that should aid him this week is his accuracy off the tee as the rough is particularly long.
Total Risk on Top 20: 2.00 Units
Picks (Top 40):
- Denny McCarthy (+115) – FanDuel
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.15 Units
When talking about a guy trending upward, you have to mention Denny McCarthy. He’s made the cut in his last five tournaments. During that span, he has never finished worse than T47. Last week he finished T7 at the U.S. Open and in the week prior, he was T5 at the Memorial. McCarthy has played in the Travelers four times before, with his best finish of T47 coming in his debut in 2018. In 2021, he finished T73 at TPC River Highlands.
McCarthy isn’t a great player off the tee and on approach. He ranks 109th in SG: OTT but he’s extremely accurate which has been a path to success at this event. However, in his last four tournaments he’s gained strokes on approach. Last week at the U.S. Open, he also gained a quarter of a stroke off the tee. Where he does excel is his short game and his putting. He’s 30th in SG: ATG and 6th in SG: Putting. The last time McCarthy lost strokes putting was at the Sony Open earlier this season.
- Joel Dahmen (+120) – FanDuel
- Risk 1.00 to win 1.20 Units
Joel Dahmen came out hot in the U.S. Open going -5 after the first two rounds but would falter a bit in the later rounds to finish T10. He’s made the cut in his past three events and has improved on his placement in each. Dahmen has a solid course history at TPC River Highlands as well. He made his tournament debut in 2017 and would go on to finish T63. The following year he missed the cut but in 2019 he finished T43 and in 2020 he finished 20th. In 2021, Dahmen was not a participant in the Travelers Championship.
Dahmen’s a great player off the tree and on approach. He ranks 67th in SG: OTT and 54th in SG: APP. In his last eight events he’s gained strokes on approach. Off the tee he’s gained strokes in three of his last five starts. While his putting has been a concern in the past, he’s gained strokes in his category in each of his last five tournaments. Based off the way his play has been trending in general and at TPC River Highlands, I think Dahmen can crack the top-40.
Total Risk on Top 40: 2.00 Units
Total Risk on the Travelers Championship: 5.08 Units
Best of luck, and as always you can find me on Twitter @GatorBetting and Instagram @Gator_Sports_Betting. Any feedback whether positive or negative is always encouraged.
