PGA Tour Picks: Travelers Championship

By Tom LaMarre

The PGA Tour is becoming a little bit like the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus since coming back from a three-month shutdown because of the Coronavirus, with most players and officials traveling together from one tournament to another, in addition to also staying together.

This week’s stop is the Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands in Cromwell, Conn., where last year Chez Reavie claimed his second PGA Tour victory by four strokes over Keegan Bradley and Zack Sucher.

Once again in the third event since the restart, fans will not be allowed on the course because of social distancing guidelines, which have been pretty successful, even though last week Nick Watney became the first PGA Tour member to test positive for Covid-19.

Watney drove from Texas to South Carolina instead of staying in the bubble and flying on the charter flight for players and officials.

A strong field will be on hand for the third straight week, with nine of the top 10 players teeing it up at TPC River Highlands, with the only exception No. 8 Adam Scott of Australia, who has said he is playing it safe and might not be back for a while.

One player who wouldn’t miss it is Bubba Watson.

“I just think that the way the golf course is set up, the way the holes shape, a lot of the holes shape from right to left, easy for me to hit my driver, being left-handed, wanting to cut it,” said Watson, who won the Travelers in 2010, 2105 and 2018, and will be trying to tie Billy Casper’s tournament record of four victories.

“My only event my dad ever saw me win was the Travelers. So this city, this town, this community, is so great to me and my family, and that’s really why this love has started. … It’s a great golf course. It’s always in great shape. It’s always a good test.”

Watson, who will be playing at TPC River Highlands for the 14th time, also tied for second in 2012, finished fourth in 2013 and tied for sixth in 2008. He shot 8-under-par 62 in round one on the way to victory in 2015 and four times has totaled 63.

Bubba beat Corey Pavin and Scott Verplank in a playoff in 2010, won another playoff over Paul Casey of England in 2015, and two years ago came from six strokes down in the final round with one of those 63s to win by three strokes.

Watson isn’t the only player who has strong feelings about TPC River Highlands.

“I love designs like this,” top-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland said. “If I had to play a golf course every day for the rest of my life, it would be something like this, tree-lined, traditional.”

The courses are about the only things on the PGA Tour that are traditional these days.

BEST BETS

1. Justin Thomas, United States – The third-ranked Thomas closed with a 63 last week to tie for eighth in the RBC Heritage, his sixth top-10 finish this season, including wins in the CJ Cup and Sony TOC. He will be gunning for his fourth straight top-10 this week, and his best result in the Travelers was a tie for third 2016, when he closed with a 62.
2. Bubba Watson, United States – Bubba will be trying to tie Billy Casper’s tournament record of four victories, having won the Travelers in 2010, 2015 and 2018, in addition to recording three other top-10s. Watson tied for seventh in the Charles Schwab Challenge, but a 73 in round three of the RBC proved costly, as a closing 65 left him tied for 52nd.
3. Rory McIlroy, Northern Ireland – The No. 1 player in the world has shown some rust with a tie for 32nd in the Charles Schwab Challenge and a tie for 41st in the RBC Challenge. But he has six top-10s this season, including a win in the WGC-HSBC, and should be ready to roll. He tied for 17th in 2017 Travelers and tied for 12th last year.
4. Brooks Koepka, United States – The fourth-ranked Koepka, coming back from a knee injury, seemed to find his game last week when he closed with a 65 to finish seventh in the RBC Heritage, his first top-10 of the season. He is playing at TPC River Highlands for the fifth time and his best results were a tie for ninth in 2016 and tie for 19th in 2018.
5. Jon Rahm, Spain – The No. 2-ranked Rahm missed the cut in the Charles Schwab Challenge, but seemed to get back on track finishing with three straight rounds in the 60s in the RBC Heritage last week to tie for 33rd. He is playing in the Travelers for the third time, and after tying for 64th in 2015, he finished in a tie for 25th the following year.
6. Bryson DeChambeau, United States – The bulked-up DeChambeau has climbed to No. 11 in the world by coming out of the break with a tie for third in the Charles Schwab Challenge and a tie for eighth in the RBC Heritage. He is playing at TPC River Highlands for the fourth time, and tied for eighth in 2018 and tied for eighth last year.
7. Justin Rose, England – After falling out of the top 10 in the world with a slow start to the season, Rose seems to have found his game and tied for third in the Charles Schwab Challenge before tying for 14th in the RBC Heritage. He is playing at TPC River Highlands for the fourth time, having tied for ninth in 2010 and tied for 13th in 2013.
8. Webb Simpson, United States – Having risen to No. 5 in the world and taken the lead in the FedEx Cup standings by winning the RBC Heritage last week, Simpson has won twice this season among six top-10 finishes. He is playing in the Travelers for the 10th time and tied for fifth in 2013 with bookend 65s, and tied for eighth three years ago.
9. Patrick Cantlay, United States – The ninth-ranked Cantlay is making his first start since the end of PGA Tour’s three-month break and has finished in the top 20 in his last five events, including second in the Shriners. He makes his sixth start in the Travelers, having shot 60 while tying for 24th in 2014 before tying for 15th the last two years.
10. Abraham Ancer, Mexico – By tying for 14th in the Charles Schwab Challenge and finishing solo second in the RBC Heritage, Ancer has climbed to No. 24 in the world. He’s won twice as a pro, but not on the PGA Tour, and also was second in The American Express early this year. Ancer tied for eighth in the Travelers last year, closing with a 63.

OTHER PLAYERS TO WATCH: Dustin Johnson, United States; Jordan Spieth, United States; Paul Casey, England; Phil Mickelson, United States; Sergio Garcia, Spain; Gary Woodland, United States; Xander Schauffele, United States; Matthew Fitzpatrick, England; Patrick Reed, United States; Corey Conners, Canada; Marc Leishman, Australia.

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SLEEPERS

1. Dylan Frittelli, South Africa – Closed with 62 in RBC Heritage to finish T-8, his third top-10 and fifth top-25 this season. Shot 70-70 to miss the cut by two in 2019 Travelers.
2. Joaquin Niemann, Chile – The 21-year-old Niemann, who won at Greenbrier early this season, finished T-3 in the RBC Heritage. Was T-5 last year in his first Travelers.
3. Carlos Ortiz, Mexico – Shot 63 in round three of RBC Heritage, but slid to a T-33 by closing with 73 and missed his sixth top-25 of season. Finished T-17 in 2017 Travelers.
4. Scottie Scheffler, United States – Has seven top-25 finishes this season to rank 21st in the FedEx Cup point standings as a rookie. Making his debut in Travelers Championship.
5. Sahith Theegala, United States – The Ben Hogan Award and Haskins Award winner from Pepperdine is making PGA Tour debut. Finished T-3 in pro debut on Outlaw Tour.

For first-round tee times, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html