The PGA Tour is heading across the country from Los Angeles to Cromwell, Conn., for the 2023 Travelers Championship this week, the next designated event on the 2023 schedule. Many of the top players in the world, including Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm, will take on TPC River Highlands in this always-popular event on the East Coast.
Below, we search for the best value prop bets among the 2023 Travelers Championship odds and make our PGA Tour picks and predictions.
While Scheffler is the World No. 1, Rahm comes into this event as the top player in the latest Golfweek/Sagarin rankings. He’s followed by Scheffler, Xander Schauffele, Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy, all of whom are teeing it up this week. Schauffele won by 2 shots over J.T. Poston and Sahith Theegala last year so he’ll be looking to defend his title.
TPC River Highlands is a shorter course, playing just 6,852 yards as a par 70. The course was renovated before the 2016 Travelers Championship, with bunkers, greens and some greens being redesigned to make the course a bit tougher. It’s not a venue that bombers can fully take advantage of, instead emphasizing iron play and positioning off the tee.
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Travelers Championship – Top-5 picks
Odds provided by BetMGM Sportsbook; access USA TODAY Sports Scores and Sports Betting Odds hub for a full list. Lines last updated Wednesday at 10:55 a.m. ET.
Rory McIlroy (+200)
McIlroy has an impressive history here, finishing in the top 20 in all 4 of his starts since 2017. He’s coming off a runner-up showing at the U.S. Open and gets a much easier layout this week at TPC River Highlands compared to Los Angeles Country Club. I could see him winning this week, but the safer bet is a 2nd straight top 5 and 5th consecutive top 10 this season.
Xander Schauffele (+280)
Schauffele is looking for back-to-back wins in Cromwell at a tournament where he’s finished in the top 20 three times in his last 4 trips. He tied for 10th at the U.S. Open, but was in contention all week after shooting a 1st-round 62.
Collin Morikawa (+450)
Morikawa showed improved form with a T-14 at the U.S. Open and he now comes to a course where his ball-striking will be an advantage. He’ll just need to hole some putts, which is often the issue for Collin.
Travelers Championship – Top-10 picks
Patrick Cantlay (+110)
Cantlay hasn’t won here (yet), but he does have 5 straight top-15 finishes in the Travelers Championship. Surprisingly, none were a top-10 but this course obviously suits his game very well. Getting him at plus-money for a top-10 feels like a bargain.
Viktor Hovland (+160)
Hovland has only played this tournament twice and not since 2020, but he’s playing as well as anyone not named Scottie Scheffler right now. This course suits a fade, which Hovland plays, and gives pure ball-strikers like him an advantage. He finished 11th here in 2020.
Tom Kim (+375)
Kim’s lack of length off the tee won’t hurt him here on a shorter course. It’s his tournament debut, but a couple of practice rounds will have him ready to roll; it’s not a particularly tricky course off the tee. What you see is what you get, for the most part. His 8th-place finish at LACC was a nice way to bounce back from 2 missed cuts.
Other T10 contenders (in order from longest odds to shortest):
- Brian Harman (+500)
- Tommy Fleetwood (+240)
Travelers Championship – Top-20 picks
Brian Harman (+240)
You’re telling me a guy with 5 top-10s in the last 8 years here is +240 for a top-20? Harman loves this place and is an absolute steal at +240 for a top-20 finish. He wasn’t great off the tee at the U.S. Open, which sank him to T-43 after being in contention, but this is an easier driving course.
Harris English (+188)
English faded down the stretch at the U.S. Open, but he won this tournament in 2021 and finished 19th last year, so he’s come in the top 20 in back-to-back years. He has 3 top-20s in his last 5 starts this season.
Sahith Theegala (+170)
Theegala feels like another good value at +170 for a top-20. He’s only missed 1 cut all season and that came way back in October, and although he doesn’t have a top-20 since April, he just came in 27th at the U.S. Open after a solid 66 on Friday and 69 on Sunday.
Other T20 contenders (in order from longest odds to shortest):
- Ludvig Aberg (+350)
- Russell Henley (+150)
Travelers Championship – Matchups
Suggested play is golfer in bold.
Patrick Cantlay (-110) vs. Jon Rahm (-110)
It feels wrong to bet against Rahm, but Cantlay is too good to pass up on this course. Rahm has only played here 3 times since 2015 and his best finish is T-25, while Cantlay has started here in each of the last 5 years and finished no worse than T-15.
Xander Schauffele (-125) vs. Viktor Hovland (+100)
Though I like Schauffele and Hovland both this week, I lean toward Xander a bit more because of his course history. He has 3 top-20s, including a win, while Hovland has just 2 appearances here in his career.
Rory McIlroy (+125) vs. Scottie Scheffler (-160)
Betting against the World No. 2 and 1 this week? Seems dicey, especially considering Scheffler doesn’t know how to finish outside the top 10 lately. McIlroy seems to like the layout of this course and with potentially rainy conditions, his length and ball flight will be advantageous.
Travelers Championship – Top English
Tommy Fleetwood (+170)
Fleetwood is the favorite to cash this bet over Matt Fitzpatrick (+175), Aaron Rai (+450) and others. Fleetwood just fired a final-round 63 at the U.S. Open and has been playing well all season, particularly as of late.
Travelers Championship – Top Swedish
Ludvig Aberg (-120)
Vincent Norrman (+190) and David Lingmerth (+400) are the only other Swedish players in the field, and while Aberg is a rookie, he’s looked comfortable in his few starts on the PGA Tour this season, including a T-25 at the RBC Canadian Open.
Travelers Championship – First-round leader
Xander Schauffele (+2200)
Schauffele wasn’t the 1st-round leader at the Travelers last year despite shooting a 63 on Thursday, but he did fire another 63 on Friday and went on to win. He was the 1st-round leader last week at LACC when he tied a U.S. Open record with a 62 on Thursday.
Rory McIlroy (+2000)
McIlroy shot 63 in the 1st round here in 2020 and he was tied for the lead after firing a 62 in Round 1 last year. He tees off at 12:50 p.m. ET on Thursday, which might be the better draw with the forecast calling for more rain in the morning.
Travelers Championship – To make the cut
Patrick Cantlay, Xander Schauffele and Viktor Hovland to make the cut (-150)
This one is pretty straightforward. I like all of these players to contend this week, starting with making the cut on Friday. They all made the cut here in their most recent start and I expect them to again.
More expert prop bet predictions
Group D winner: Sahith Theegala (+450)
I’m honestly surprised Theegala is the long shot in this group. He has Sungjae Im (+300), Jason Day (+333), Cameron Young (+350) and Justin Thomas (+350) in his group. Young and Theegala were the only ones to make the cut last week at the U.S. Open, and all 4 besides Theegala have struggled as of late.
Will there be a playoff? Yes: (+350)
TPC River Highlands has a knack for the dramatic. In 16 years under the title as Travelers Championship, there have been 6 playoffs, including 4 since 2013. Let’s hope for another this year.
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Golfweek:
- 2023 U.S. Open on NBC was most watched since 2019, up 27 percent from last year
- Check the yardage book: TPC River Highlands for the 2023 Travelers Championship on the PGA Tour
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