It’s another can’t-miss affair on the PGA Tour, a tournament that continues to boast a strong field year after year, even in its unfortunate spot on the schedule.
The key question for gamblers this week: Do you trust one of the big boys, especially coming off a high-intensity week like the U.S.
Then again, this event has been in a similar spot on the schedule before and has still produced some very well-known winners and some unbelievably entertaining finishes.
Anonymous Caddie Picker of the week: Dustin Johnson will give him a ton of good opportunities at TPC River Highlands.
Pat Mayo, DraftKings/Fantasy National, Mayo Media Network analyst: Abraham Ancer — It’s eventually got to be his time, right? RIGHTTTT???? He’s posted a pair of top-11 finishes at TPC River Highlands the past two years, a course short enough to make certain that distance won’t be an issue, and before his missed cut at the US Open last week, he’d rattled off five straight top-20 finishes.
Brandon Gdula, FanDuel/numberFire managing editor: Abraham Ancer — TPC River Highlands doesn’t require distance but does demand gaining strokes off the tee, which fits with what Ancer does as a great ball-striker who lacks distance off the tee.
More recently, he’s started to putt much better—gaining 13.4 strokes total in his last four events.
The thing that puts me over the edge, my guy Steve Bamford, a sharp European handicapper, points out that West Coast Poa-putting prowess helps at TPC River Highlands, where the putting surfaces are predominantly Poa.
Christopher Powers, Golf Digest assistant editor: Matthew Wolff — If, like me, you were on him last week at 225-1 at Torrey, you experienced a similar thrill when he popped on Thursday and then remained in the mix until Sunday afternoon before fading late.
Pat Mayo nailed Collin Morikawa at the WGC-Workday three events ago at 33-1 in addition to Koepka at the WMPO.
And you might not have noticed, but he finished 14th in his last start at the Palmetto—where he gained 8.9 strokes on his approach shots.
He’s lost strokes putting in six of his past 13 starts, but in the five he has gained, he’s gaining an average of +4.85 per event.
Now he returns to TPC River Highlands, where he finished T-11 last year, with plenty of great vibes to lean on.
The ball-striking has been incredible, and best yet, he has actually gained strokes putting in six of his past eight starts.
Powers, Golf Digest: Jason Day — I know, I know, he’s not been good, but that’s made his number very attractive if we’re strictly betting on his ceiling.
Caddie: Brian Harman — I’m a fan of Brian’s, but he should not be in this tier with the elite players in the world.
Gdula: Brooks Koepka — Of the studs, Koepka generally has the most red flags, and after another narrow major miss, I’m not quite there.
Gehman: Brian Harman — Harman is seemingly a great fit for TPC River Highlands, but his outright number is getting a bit outrageous.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Brooks Koepka — I’ll join the chorus of dissent on fading Koepka.
And Streels seems to really play well on Poa greens like out at Pebble, and he’s coming off another strong showing at a major.
Gehman: Aaron Wise — Wise has fixed his driver, gaining strokes off the tee in seven of his past eight starts and is returning to his 2019 level.
Hennessey: Jason Day , but I’m not going to pass up a winner.
Maybe it’s just one bad week, but he lost strokes, a lot of them, in literally every area you can lose strokes in.
Alldrick, FanShare Sports: Charley Hoffman — As you can see above, Wolff has poor form and poor course history.
Mayo: Charley Hoffman — He’s now made 12 cuts in a row, and we’ve returned to a comfy location where he can wedge the place to death.
Gehman: Harris English — The last two starts for English have been reminiscent of his 2020 form, when he ended the season with the seventh-best strokes-gained number on tour.
Hennessey, Golf Digest: Paul Casey — Not a great number, but Casey’s Travelers Championship history speaks for itself with two runners-up and two other top-10s.
Powers, Golf Digest: Abraham Ancer — I’m a sucker for a community play, and it seems like the community is on Ancer to win this week.
Alldrick, FanShare Sports: Keegan Bradley — If Bradley just doesn’t lose shots to the field putting this week he will finish in the top 10.
Gehman: Keegan Bradley — We’ve been tracking Bradley for months now, and I’ve been continually impressed with his putting gains.
The Players: Bryson DeChambeau; Honda Classic: Sungjae Im.
Hennessey: Paul Casey — It’s a toss-up between Casey and Streelman for me, but Casey is more likely to win with his firepower, with some risk.
Previous weeks: Safeway Open: Phil Mickelson; U.S.
Previous weeks: Safeway Open: Brendan Steele; U.S.
$4,735,133 — The amount of money earned by Bubba Watson in 14 starts at the Travelers Championship, largely thanks to three victories.
Brandon Gdula, managing editor and analyst for NumberFire, a FanDuel daily-fantasy analysis company, recently won the 2018 fantasy sports-writers association Golf Writer of the Year **.
As a U.K.-based expert, Alldrick’s insight into European Tour regulars and low priced, low owned plays has provided an invaluable edge for readers when it comes to DFS GPPs.
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