There will be no break for the game’s top players after the year’s toughest test. Following the U.S. Open, the PGA Tour is heading to Cromwell, Conn., for the 2023 Travelers Championship – a designated event with a loaded field, led by world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
Below, we look at the 2023 Travelers Championship odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
Scheffler (+650) leads a star-studded field that also features Jon Rahm, Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Viktor Hovland. Schauffele won this tournament last year by 2 shots over J.T. Poston. The Travelers Championship has often drawn some of the biggest names but there’s never been a field as strong as this one at TPC River Highlands.
The course isn’t a very long one. It’s a par 70 and plays at 6,841 yards and was designed by Pete Dye, featuring some iconic finishing holes – including the driveable par-4 15th and the par-4 17th hole that bends around a pond. The course reopened in 2016 after a renovation, including reworked bunkers, tees and greens around the venue, which is cut between homes and condos.
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Travelers Championship – Expert picks
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Monday at 9:35 a.m. ET.
Collin Morikawa (+2500)
This is a good course for Morikawa. It’s a 2nd-shot track that requires players to be in the right position off the tee and to be accurate into relatively small greens protected by bunkers. He missed the cut here in 2020, but he tied for 36th in 2019. He’s fresh off a T-14 at the U.S. Open and has put to rest concerns about his back spasms.
Xander Schauffele (+1400)
Schauffele won this tournament last year and tied for 20th in 2020, skipping the event in between in 2021. Though he disappointed on the weekend at Los Angeles Country Club, he fired a tournament-record 62 on Thursday and gained strokes in every category except around the greens (-0.17). He’s a strong candidate to win this event in back-to-back years.
Tommy Fleetwood (+3300)
Fleetwood ranks 72nd on tour in driving distance but you don’t have to be terribly long to win on this course. Fleetwood can flight the ball high and low, which helps with some of the elevation change throughout this course. He fired a 63 on Sunday at LACC and could carry that momentum into this week’s designated event.
Travelers Championship picks – Contenders
Tom Kim (+5000)
Kim showed a lot of poise and skill at the U.S. Open, finishing T-8 after shooting 3-over 73 in the 1st round. He ranked 4th in SG: approach, according to Data Golf, and now heading into an event where strong iron play is essential, he makes a lot of sense to contend at TPC River Highlands. I’m not worried about this being his tournament debut. That hasn’t bothered him in the past and it won’t this week.
Sahith Theegala (+5500)
Theegala had a very good chance to win the Travelers last year, but a drive into the fairway bunker on 18, followed by a thin shot into the lip, doomed his chances. He finished T-2 after doubling the last hole, losing by 2 shots to Schauffele. He hasn’t missed a cut since last October and finished T-27 at the U.S. Open, and this type of event suits him much better as he leads the tour in birdies this season (332).
Russell Henley (+4000)
Henley is the most accurate driver on tour, ranking 1st in fairway percentage (72.68%). On a course that emphasizes accuracy more than length off the tee, Henley is a great fit, especially with how well he hits his irons. He tied for 19th here in 2021, which is the last time he played this event. He’s quietly finished in the top 20 in his last 3 starts, including a T-14 at the U.S. Open.
Travelers Championship picks – Long shots
Brian Harman (+8000)
Harman is an absolute horse for this course. He has 4 top-10s in his last 5 starts here, including a T-8 last year. It’s a venue that seems to fit lefties well, with Bubba Watson winning here 3 times and Phil Mickelson winning twice. Harman is a long shot but his odds shouldn’t be as long as they are, especially after he played relatively well at the U.S. Open.
Harris English (+6600)
English won here in 2021 and enters in good form after tying for 8th at the U.S. Open, finding himself in contention on Saturday and early on Sunday. His odds certainly shortened after his U.S. Open performance, but he’s still worth betting given his course history.
Ludvig Aberg (+12500)
The rookie made his debut as a pro a couple of weeks ago at the RBC Canadian Open and looked more than comfortable en route to a T-25 finish. Now that he’s got the first-start jitters out of the way, he can play more freely and fly under the radar a little more in Cromwell. He has a complete game from tee to green.
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For more sports betting picks and tips, check out SportsbookWire.com and BetFTW.
Golfweek:
- Prize money payouts for each player at the 2023 U.S. Open at Los Angeles Country Club
- Winner’s Bag: Wyndham Clark, 2023 U.S. Open
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