The Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut was probably previously viewed as a light-to-middleweight stop on the PGA Tour.
Perhaps a fitting venue for lesser lights such as Ken Duke (2013) and Chez Reavie (2019) to hoist the trophy.
But for the second year running it’s been given Signature Event status, meaning for a third week in a row the PGA Tour’s elite take each other on again.
It’s a tournament too far for Rory McIlroy though as he’s withdrawn to lick his wounds and process how the US Open got away from him.
Of course, Pinehurst hero Bryson DeChambeau isn’t there either as he heads back to LIV but the 71-man field is still loaded with the world’s best including No.1-ranked Scottie Scheffler.
At least this is a decent opportunity to breathe out a little after the mental challenges of the last two weeks.
Both the Memorial and the US Open were won in single digits under par but Keegan Bradley took victory here last year with 23-under.
Patrick Cantlay, who has strong course form, says of this week’s test: “It's important to drive the ball in the fairway. If you do, you have a lot of wedges, so you'll have a lot of opportunities to make birdies. Usually with the scores around here, you need to make a bunch of birdies to have a chance.”
TPC River Highlands is a rarity for the PGA Tour as it measures under 7,000 yards. In fact, the Pete Dye track which features poa annua greens, totals up at just 6,835.
Angles to consider
1/ Strokes Gained: Approach
Bradley topped the SG: Approach charts last year while three others in the top six ranked 3rd, 5th and 6th. That backed up previous evidence with 2022 winner Xander Schauffele 5th for Approach, Dustin Johnson 6th (2020) and Reavie 1st (2019).
2/ Strokes Gained: Putting
Bradley was also the best putter 12 months ago and that means three of the last four winners have ranked in the top four for SG: Putting. Given the low scores required, a hot blade makes sense.
3/ Par 4s
Yet another category where Bradley ranked No.1 in 2023. That tapped into a historical trend as seven winners in the previous decade led that category here. It makes sense on a par 70 with two fewer par fours than a stock par 72.
Selections
The above angles have been used to create a shortlist from which the following players are selected.
Russell Henley
Since the start of April, Henley has pieced together four top 12 finishes, the most recent thanks to a seventh place in last week’s US Open where he ranked 1st for SG: Putting and, for a fifth event running, gained strokes on the field in Approach. At this course he was 6th in 2018 and has four top 20s in six visits while he ticks another box by being 20th this season in Par 4 Scoring Average.
Tony Finau
With four of the last five Travelers winners coming in off a US Open top 20 - two of those a top three - it’s worth perusing the top of the Pinehurst leaderboard. And the one that stands out is Finau. The big-hitting American was tied third last week, building on eighth at Memorial and two top 20s (Charles Schwab and US PGA) prior to that. Finau ranked 1st for SG: Approach in the US Open, as he did at the US PGA, and his putter is warming up (39th and 21st for SG: Putting in his last two events).
Tom Kim
Tom Kim’s fourth place in Canada earlier this month confirmed his form was turning and he’s added to that with matching finishes of tied 26th in the last two majors. He threatened something much better in the US Open but 10th for SG: Approach was a good sign and he gained strokes on the greens too. Kim’s three PGA Tour wins were all achieved with 20-under or better so this could be a good course for him. He fired a 64 and a 65 on debut last year when sent off at 33/1.
Tips 2-1; +4.80pts
