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It’s easy to imagine that the Travelers Championship would suffer in terms of field quality due to its slot in the calendar. After all, don’t the big guns want to have a much-deserved week off after a gruelling US Open test at Torrey Pines where just 12 players broke par? Well, apparently not. TPC River Highlands is a popular stop for many and that’s shown by taking a look at the front end of the market. Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Brooks Koepka, Patrick Cantlay, Paul Casey, Patrick Reed, Bubba Watson and Scottie Scheffler bring star quality to the annual event at Cromwell in Connecticut and all have to be respected. Some big names have won this event down the years. DJ is the defending champion (although that edition didn’t take place after the delayed 2020 US Open), Jordan Spieth won in 2017 and Bubba is a three-time winner. By contrast, there have also been recent wins for Chez Reavie (2019), Russell Knox (2016) and Kevin Streelman (2014). Stewart Cink is a double champion and he gave some comments on TPC River Highlands on Tuesday: “It’s a course that has a lot of variety. You don’t have to be super long, but length definitely helps on some holes. “You don’t have to be super accurate because the fairways are pretty generous. Then again, there is also water and some pretty thick rough. So it helps to be long, straight, and to be smart. “If you play good, quality golf here, any style of play can be successful. Reminds me a lot of Harbour Town actually, the way they don’t really favour any specific style.” Cink was the winner there after the US Masters. But while style of golf isn’t vital, there are some key factors when looking at past winners. Angles to consider 1/ Par 4 Scoring Dustin Johnson played the par 4s in 14-under last year, topping the rankings. Yet again, the winner had played the par 4s better than anyone else, a trend that started with Kevin Streelman in 2014. It’s a par 70 with just two par 5s so it all makes sense. 2/ Strokes Gained: Tee To Green DJ continued another strong theme: the last six winners have been in the top six for Strokes Gained: Tee To Green. Breaking that stat down, Around The Green seems the least important element so SG: Off The Tee and Approach are the focus. 3/ Course form While DJ hadn’t done much here, course form can still be a good pointer. Runner-up Streelman was a previous course winner while third-placed MacKenzie Hughes had been the first-round leader the year before (a feat he repeated in 2020). Paul Casey finished in the top five four times between 2015 and 2019. Selections The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected. Scottie Scheffler Scheffler seems to enjoy playing in elite company so should be pleased to have so many star names around him again this week. The Texan finished tied eighth at the PGA Championship, tied seventh in last week’s US Open and also third at Memorial. He ranked second for SG: Tee To Green at Muirfield Village and is tied eighth in Par 4 Scoring this season. Abraham Ancer The Mexican is still searching for a first win but the knocks on the door have been loud and regular. He ranks 4th for Par 4 Scoring this season and is a healthy 29th in SG: Tee To Green. He boasts course form too: Ancer opened with a 64 and closed with a 63 when tied eighth in 2019 and he added tied 11th last year, shooting middle rounds of 65-66. Bubba Watson If leaning on the course form angle, Bubba jumps off the page after wins in 2010, 2015 and 2018. He also has three other top sixes. Watson faded at Torrey Pines but was fifth at halfway and May brought top 20s at the Valspar and Wells Fargo. His Off The Tee stats have been impressive too but it’s that brilliant record at TPC River Highlands that gets him the nod. Tips 1-2; +2.25pts 1.25pts e.w. Scottie Scheffler at 25/1 (William Hill 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) 47th 1.25pts e.w. Abraham Ancer at 28/1 (William Hill 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8) 4th 0.75pts e.w. Bubba Watson at 45/1 (BetVictor 1/5 1-2-3-4-5-6) 19th
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