Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions – 2023 Travelers Championship

Fantasy Golf Picks, Odds, and Predictions for the 2023 Travelers Championship  

Travelers Championship Fantasy Preview

Welcome to the big time, Wyndham Clark.

Around six-and-a-half weeks after he bagged his maiden PGA TOUR win, Clark has joined the major winner’s club with a superb victory at the U.S. Open.

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In the week that the Nuggets won their first NBA Championship, Denver man Clark outlasted the field in increasingly tricky conditions at the Los Angeles Country Club. Sure, he benefitted from co-leader Rickie Fowler’s tough day at the office, but Clark also matched the level par rounds of Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy to keep the best in the business at bay.

For all the talk about Los Angeles CC’s suitability as a U.S. Open host, on Sunday it played as you would expect such a venue too: incredibly tough, with the players scrapping away to get up and down from the inevitable missed greens. Clark, quite simply, did that better than anybody else on the top page of the leaderboard.

That’s three down and one to go as far as 2023’s majors are concerned, but the PGA TOUR marches on to its next newly ‘elevated’ event: the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Connecticut. 

Last Event’s Fantasy Results

We had a strong showing at the US Open last week with 10 out of 12 of our picks (including Sleepers) making the cut.

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Our top pick, Scottie Scheffler, put up a great fight before finishing 3rd on the week.  Of the 10 selections that made the cut, Fowler and Fleetwood helped us notch two Top 5s and Harris English rounded things out with his T8.

2023 Travelers Championship Field

The Travelers has been handed designated status in 2023, which brings with it a $20 million purse and the high-quality field that goes with that.

So the likes of Scheffler, McIlroy and Rahm make the trip, as do Cantlay, Hovland, Clark and the defending champion, Xander Schauffele.

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Many of the world’s top 50 – barring the LIV Golf contingent – will be heading to TPC River Highlands for what might be described as another mini major. The likes of Matt Fitzpatrick, Tony Finau and Jason Day will be looking to add another trophy to their collection after winning in recent months.

This Week’s Course Preview

There’s a unique curiosity to TPC River Highlands, a track that is short by anybody’s measure (6,852 yards for its Par 70) and yet one that is rarely completely overpowered.

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That’s due to the combination of doglegging fairways, thick tree-lines and juicy rough, which can convince some to pack the big stick away and go searching for the short grass off the tee instead.

There’s water and sand on the property too, but this is not a particularly penal golf course – most hazards will be avoided, although scrambling well from the rough will be vital.

Even though the Bentgrass/Poa mix greens are on the smaller side, they are still easy enough to find with a deceptively high GIR count – it’s worth remembering that Jim Furyk fired a round of 58 here in 2016, so finding fairways and approaching (or scrambling well) can still lead to birdie opportunities despite there being just two Par 5s on the track.

There’s some fantastic risk-and-reward golf to be played too. The 13th hole is a short Par 5 at 523 yards, so most will have a crack at the green in two – but trouble lurks. There were only 11 eagles here last year but 32 double bogeys or worse.

There’s a similar theme at the 15th hole, a Par 4 that barely measures 300 yards. But taking on the green is fraught with risk – four eagles but 13 double bogeys or worse tells the tale.

Weather Forecast for Cromwell, CT

Make no mistake: TPC River Highlands will play a whole bunch easier if its soft underfoot.

And with plenty of rain in the early forecast, that’s how things could pan out – although not on Thursday, which according to the predictions will be cloud but the driest day of the four.

There’s likely to be rain around on Friday and throughout the weekend, with temperatures hovering around the 78 degree mark. The wind looks set to remain consistent at around 9mph.

CROMWELL WEATHER

Last Year’s Results from the Travelers Championship

A pair of 63s on Thursday and Friday enabled Xander Schauffele to saunter though the weekend on his way to a two-stroke victory.

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A third round of 67 somewhat opened the door to others, although the 2022 Travelers field was not stellar – the perk of the PGA TOUR’s designated event status will be felt this week.

A bogey at the second hole on Sunday left many wondering if Schauffele was heading for his trademark struggles when in contention, but he steadied the ship with birdies at four and six and rarely looked in trouble thereafter.

Sahith Theegala and J.T. Poston got the closest at -17, while amateur Michael Thorbjornsen enjoyed a fine week in solo fourth. But Schauffele would not be denied….

Where to Play Fantasy Golf for the Travelers Championship this Week

In a week where driver may be put away on more holes than normal, we know that the edge that Rory, Rahm, Scheffler and co have will be eroded somewhat. Do casual DFS gamers know that? Probably not, so we can avoid the chalk picks that might not live up to expectation….there’s opportunities for savvy gamers this week.

• PGA $1M Summer Sand Trap Special: It will cost you $25 per team, but this summer special will also reward the winner with $200k from a mid-sized 47,000 lineup field.

• PGA $350K Micro Drive the Green: For those on a tighter budget, this $5 contest still has a lofty top prize of $50k to the winner and a stack of other handy payouts as well – multi-entry of up to 150 allows for different options to be deployed, too.

This Week’s Fantasy Notes

What do Dustin Johnson, Chez Reavie and Harris English have in common?

Absolutely nothing, apart from the fact that they’ve all won the Travelers Championship within the past five years. But that’s where the similarities end.

The likes of Reavie, Brian Harman and Kevin Kisner found themselves in the top-10 here a year ago – a trio for whom finding fairways is the key, whereas Theegala and Keith Mitchell were left scrambling for their lives on their way to their own top-10 finishes.

The upshot of which is that there’s no single way to crack the code at TPC River Highlands, with elite shot shapers (Bubba Watson is a three-time champion here) mingling with shorter fairway-finders in the winner’s circle.

Scrambling is a pre-requisite for success, mind you, given the challenges of finding the fairway, while last year’s leaderboard in particular showcased a number of reliable putters – the range from 15ft and inside proving particularly definitive.

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Our Top 5 (and Top 2 Sleeper) Fantasy Picks and Odds to Win the Travelers Championship   

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Top 5 Picks/Odds to Win the Travelers Championship  

Top Tier Pick # 1

Viktor Hovland (Odds: 20/1, FPPG: 87.5, Salary: $9,900)

An accurate driver and outstanding on approach, Viktor Hovland is one of those guys that can pick and strategize his way around TPC River Highlands.

He’s a brilliant scrambler too that ranks first on the PGA TOUR for proximity from the rough, so the Norwegian has the basic building blocks for success at this tight layout.

There’s form in the bank too, with his win at the Memorial Tournament the meat in a sandwich that includes T2 at the PGA Championship, a top-10 at The Masters and a top-20 at the U.S. Open.

Key Stats:

• Rough Proximity – 1st
• Scoring Average – 7th
• SG: Approach – 10th

Top Tier Pick #2

Matt Fitzpatrick (Odds: 30/1, FPPG: 65.4, Salary: $9,000)

Top-10 finishes at tree-heavy layouts like Augusta and Muirfield Village confirm Matt Fitzpatrick’s fondness for these conditions.

He will be somewhat inconvenienced by having to sheathe the big stick, such is his driving prowess, but his approach play has improved of late – the Canadian Open being the only tournament since the start of April where he hasn’t gained strokes on the field with iron and wedge in hand.

Boasting an excellent short game, Fitzpatrick also has plenty of form in the tank – in his last seven strokeplay starts, the Brit has won (RBC Heritage), banked two top-10s and a pair of other top-20s too.

Key Stats:

• SG: Putting – 23rd
• Scrambling – 25th
• SG: Tee-to-Green – 33rd

Mid-Tier Pick #1

Hideki Matsuyama (Odds: 45/1, FPPG: 68.8, Salary: $8,600)

As he continues to serve up outstanding tee-to-green numbers, you feel that Hideki Matsuyama’s next run at a trophy isn’t far away if he can find a solution to his putting woes.

Solo fifth at the PLAYERS and T16 at The Masters are the best results he has to show for his uptick, but Matsuyama has finished no lower than T32 in any of his last seven strokeplay starts – and that was in the classy U.S. Open.

Clubbing down is perhaps a good option for Matsuyama at the moment, especially as he is one of the finest 3-wood and long iron hitters on the planet.

Key Stats:

• Scrambling – 6th
• SG: Tee-to-Green – 21st
• Scoring Average – 29th

Mid-Tier Pick #2

Russell Henley (Odds: 50/1, FPPG: 60.6, Salary: $7,800)

One of the advantages that players like Russell Henley have at TPC River Highlands is that they can still hit driver if they want – such is their accuracy – and so he can play his natural game.

That’s evident in a formline at this track which reads 19-32-MC-6-11, which is excellent when you consider that messrs Scheffler, McIlroy and Rahm haven’t recorded a single top-10 at River Highlands between them in the past decade.

After winning at Mayakoba in November, Henley went off the boil for a few months but he’s definitely back somewhere near his best: he gained +1.99 strokes on the field with his ball-striking at the U.S. Open to go with T4 at The Masters and top-20s at the Charles Schwab and Memorial Tournament.

Key Stats:

• Driving Accuracy – 1st
• Scoring Average – 29th
• SG: Tee-to-Green – 30th

Low-Tier Pick

Denny McCarthy (Odds: 75/1, FPPG: 66.6, Salary: $7,600)

The improvement in Denny McCarthy’s ball-striking has carried him to a playoff defeat at the Memorial Tournament and a T20 turn at the U.S. Open – both an excellent launchpad for a layout he should be perfectly suited to….even if his results at TPC River Highlands don’t suggest as much.

One of the best putters in the world, McCarthy is also a reliable scrambler who excels when approaching from 125 yards and closer – all handy weapons for the arsenal at this layout.

Generally accurate off the tee, McCarthy should have done better at River Highlands than he has – this edition, which finds him in great form, at least offers an opportunity to do exactly that.

Key Stats:

• Putts Inside 10ft – 1st
• Scrambling – 9th
• Scoring Average – 16th

Sleeper Pick for the Travelers Championship

Andrew Putnam (Odds: 175/1, FPPG: 61.7, Salary: $7,200)

We liked Andrew Putnam enough to add him to our U.S. Open lineups, and he rewarded us with a T43 finish from a bargain basement salary.

The same rules could well apply at TPC River Highlands, where his neat and tidy tee game and exceptional approach play can both yield dividends.

A solid record at this layout comes as no surprise, and having extended his record of strokes gained on the field putting to four of his last five starts, Putnam has all the tools required to outperform expectations yet again this week.

Key Stats:

• SG: Putting – 9th
• Driving Accuracy – 17th
• SG: Approach – 31st

Alternative Sleeper Pick for the Travelers Championship

Billy Horschel (Odds: 250/1, FPPG: 48.4, Salary: $7,000)

All things being equal, historically Billy Horschel is the kind of player you’d want onside to pick his way around TPC River Highlands.

But he made a major step forward with his ball-striking at the U.S. Open, where Horschel finally looked more in control of his game to deliver a T43 finish.

Sometimes it only takes a small spark like that to revitalize a player, and knowing that Horschel has won at Muirfield Village – another cramped, tree-lined course – affords us the hope that River Highlands will provide similarly fruitful ground.

Key Stats:

• Approaches from Inside 100 yards – 47th
• Driving Accuracy – 56th
• SG: Putting – 57th

This Week’s Sample Fantasy Lineup

Note: Sample lineups provided as examples only.  Be sure to mix-and-match players to best fit individual contests.

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Fantasy Golf Predictions This Season (2023-2023)

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