By Tom Wilkinson
A strong field is assembled this week in Connecticut for the Travelers Championship with a number of top players in action including half of the top ten in the latest world rankings. It used to be that top players would take the week off after a major, but there seems to be more pressure for the top players to play each week, especially with the competing LIV tour making news seemingly every day. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler will be in action this week along with No. 2 Rory McIlroy, No. 5 Justin Thomas No. 6 Patrick Cantlay and No. 9 Sam Burns. It is also not a top-heavy field, as there are a lot of big names playing this week. Let’s look at Travelers Championship picks.
Defending Champion: Harris English
Travelers Championship Matchups
Rory McIlroy -126 vs. Justin Thomas
Scottie Scheffler -116 vs. Rory McIlroy
Scottie Scheffler -134 vs. Patrick Cantlay
Justin Thomas -118 vs. Patrick Cantlay
Brian Harman -130 vs. Mito Pereira
Sungjae Im -142 vs. Jordan Spieth
Tony Finau -126 vs. Seamus Power
Keegan Bradley -122 vs. Joaquinn Niemann
Aaron Wise -142 vs. Davis Riley
Xander Schauffele -118 vs. Sam Burns
Sam Burns -142 vs. Jordan Spieth
Joaquin Niemann -130 vs. Tony Finau
Sungjae Im -118 vs. Xander Schauffele
Seamus Power -116 vs. Aaron Wise
Davis Riley -118 vs. Marc Leishman
Brian Harman -152 vs. Jason Day
Brendan Steele -126 vs. Si Woo Kim
Tommy Fleetwood -118 vs. Webb Simpson
Mito Pereira -152 vs. Joel Dahmen
Harold Varner III -142 vs. Jason Kokrak
Denny McCarthy -142 vs. Kyoung-Hoon Lee
Cameron Tringale -134 vs. Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Russell Knox -142 vs. Harris English
Cameron Davis -126 vs. Rickie Fowler
Jordan Spieth -110 vs. Keegan Bradley
Joel Dahmen -120 vs. C.T. Pan
Cameron Davis -120 vs. Kevin Kisner
Brian Harman -115 vs. Marc Leishman
Mackenzie Hughes -130 vs. Jason Kokrak
Luke List -130 vs. Anirban Lahiri
Adam Long -120 vs. Jhonattan Vegas
Brendan Steele -115 vs. Denny McCarthy
Keith Mitchell -120 vs. Kyoung Hoon Lee
Joaquin Niemann -130 vs. Harold Varner
Sungjae Im -120 vs. Seamus Power
Brendon Todd -120 vs. Si Woo Kim
Webb Simpson -130 vs. Maverick McNealy
Golf Picks
Brian Harman -152 vs. Jason Day
Harman really likes playing at TPC River Highlands, as he has four top 10 finishes in his last seven appearances. I don’t know what has happened to Jason Day, but he simply isn’t the player he once was. Whether it is injuries, lack of motivation, or something else, Day simply isn’t a top player anymore. I’ll lay the price and take Harman in this matchup.
Sam Burns -142 vs. Jordan Spieth
I know that Spieth gets all the love from the media, but the reality is that Burns is the better player right now. Burns is in contention seemingly every week and he has improved every year he has played in this event with a tie for 13th last season. I’ll take Burns in this matchup against Spieth.
Joaquin Niemann -130 vs. Harold Varner
Niemann has played well at the Travelers including a tie for 5th three years ago. There is no question that Niemann has the talent to play with the best players in the world and he is the clear choice in this matchup against Varner.
Seamus Power -104 vs. Tony Finau
Power continues to play well, as he has finished in the top 20 in half of his starts this season. He played well last week with a tie for 12th. I don’t know that this course suits Finau at all, as his game is more about distance. I’ll take Power in this matchup against Finau.
Christiaan Bezuidenhout +114 vs. Cameron Tringale
One thing that has worked well over the years is going against Tringale in matchups. I still consider Tringale a journeyman golfer who doesn’t do well in strong fields. Bezuidenhout is starting to find his footing on the PGA Tour and he has top 15 finishes in two of his last three starts. I’ll take Bezuidenhout at the plus price in this golf matchup.
Check out the latest Travelers Championship odds at SugarHouse.
