Golf Preview: Travelers Championship
The PGA Tour season continues to exceed expectations as Jon Rahm captured his first major win at the U.S. Open this past weekend at a challenging Torrey Pines Course. Although not a major, the 2021 Travelers Championship features top golfers around the world.
TPC River Highlands located in Cromwell, Connecticut offers the possibility for many golfers to go low this upcoming weekend. The short 6,841-yard par 70 course is the home of Jim Furyk’s record low score of 58. The biggest challenge will be holes 16-18 where golfers have consistently shot an average above par.
The tournament will involve 156 professional golfers this week including defending champion Dustin Johnson. Other notable appearances include Bryson DeChambeau, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Cantlay, Tony Finau, Ricky Fowler, Justin Rose, Joaquin Niemann, and many more.
Travelers Championship: Players Odds
Dustin Johnson (+1200)
Bryson DeChambeau (+1200)
Brooks Koepka (+1400)
Patrick Cantlay (+1600)
Paul Casey (+1600)
Scottie Scheffler (+2200)
Patrick Reed (+2500)
Tony Finau (+2800)
Brian Harman (+3000)
Abraham Ancer (+3300)
Best Bets
Patrick Reed (+2500)
Although Reed didn’t place as high as he would have liked to in the U.S. Open this past weekend finishing (+2) through his four rounds, he proceeded to shoot a 67 on the final day. Carrying that momentum into the Travelers Championship this upcoming weekend is a must for Patrick Reed. Reed, who sits at 18th in FedEx Cup points, looks to climb the leaderboard with a stellar weekend at TPC River Highlands.
It goes without saying that the short course plays heavily in the favor of Reed’s game. Not known to explode like many others off the tee, Reed possesses perhaps an even more desirable talent: his ability to putt. Entering the Travelers Championship, Reed is without a doubt the most consistent putter on the PGA Tour.
Ranking first in putting average (1.694) and one-putt percentage (45.54%), Reed presents a lot of upside on the betting side of things this weekend. Finishing in the top-10 six times this season and capturing his 9th PGA Tour victory makes him a valuable contender at (+2500). Look for Reed to make a run at the trophy this upcoming weekend in Connecticut.
Paul Casey (+1600)
While I think placing a bet on Reed presents more upside simply because of his odds, there’s no harm in placing another on the reliable Paul Casey. It looked like Casey was ready to make a run at it for his first career major this past weekend at Torrey Pines making three consecutive birdies before falling apart on the back 9. Still, he finished tied for seventh in a stacked leaderboard and displayed several bright spots in his game this past weekend.
TPC River Highlands may possibly be one of Casey’s favorite courses to compete at. In his past six starts at the course, he has finished in the top-five on four different occasions with two of those resulting in a runner-up. Similar to Reed, the course plays in his favor as he doesn’t need to worry about competing with the long ball hitters off the tee.
His approach game was working on all cylinders in the U.S. Open and reasonably so the Englishman ranks 2nd in the category through the past 24 rounds. I am aware Casey is not a golfer that wins many tournaments, but his odds may suggest that his time has come to conquer the Travelers Championship.
If there was ever a place for Casey to do it, then that would be this weekend at TPC River Highlands.
The approach and putting game will play as the two biggest factors in this weekend’s heavily anticipated Travelers Championship. Strengths both Reed and Casey have incorporated into their game. We’ll just have to wait and see if that’s enough for either of the two golfers to come out on top when it’s all said and done.
Good Luck!, and don’t forget to come back to USA Wager for more Golf previews and betting tips!
