2024 Travelers Championship Betting Tips: Golf Picks & Predictions This Week

by Joe Cistaro (joeycis) Last Updated 2024-06-18 15:47:25

This week, Joe Cistaro breaks down PGA golf betting tips for the 2024 Travelers Championship at TPC River Highlands. Use the PrizePicks promo code GRINDERS to claim a $100 deposit bonus for PGA Pick’em today!

Congratulations to Bryson DeChambeau on an incredible victory at the U.S. Open. Bryson is sorely missed on the PGA TOUR, as he has transformed into golf’s greatest entertainer. Unfortunately, the PGA TOUR concludes their Signature Event series this week without Bryson at TPC River Highlands for the 2024 Travelers Championship.

The best golfers on the PGA TOUR will tee it up for another massive prize pool and 700 FedEx points. Will the winner score more than the New England Patriots in most games this season? Let’s preview betting odds, the field, and the course before building this week’s golf betting card.

2024 Travelers Championship Odds

At the time of this writing – June 18th – you can find these odds at DraftKings Sportsbook. The below list features all golfers priced at 50/1 or better.

Here are the recent winners of the Travelers Championship:

• 2023 – Keegan Bradley (-23)
• 2022 – Xander Schauffele (-19)
• 2021 – Harris English (-13)
• 2020 – Dustin Johnson (-19)
• 2019 – Chez Reavie (-17)
• 2018 – Bubba Watson (-17)
• 2017 – Jordan Spieth (-12)

As we are accustomed, the Signature Event status at the Travelers Championship means the field will be strong. After an exciting U.S. Open, many of the top golfers on the PGA TOUR will head to Cromwell, Connecticut to play in front of an electric crowd. Keegan Bradley returns to defend his emotional championship in front of his home fans, along with past champions, Harris English and Xander Schauffele.

Notably absent will be Rory McIlroy, who withdrew from the event after his disappointing finish at Pinehurst. Rory received plenty of flack, from myself included, for leaving promptly after Bryson’s remarkable up-and-down on #18 to win the tournament. Rory deserves a break before The Open Championship to recalibrate after what must have been one of the most devastating hours of his career. We will see him again at the Genesis Scottish Open.

72 golfers will tee it up in the final Signature Event. With no cuts, we will see plenty of birdies, as this course promises to allow far more scoring than we’ve seen over the last month. Let’s preview the course before building our betting card.

The Travelers Championship Betting Tips & Preview

• Course: TPC River Highlands
• Date: June 20 – 23
• Par: 70
• Yardage: 6,841
• Greens: Bentgrass (Poa mix)
• Average Green Size: 5,000

TPC River Highlands is a Pete Dye design located in Cromwell, Connecticut. Formerly the Hartford Open and the Buick Open, Travelers will sponsor the event this week for the 18th time.

The course is one of the shortest courses on the schedule, resting at just a touch above 6,800 yards. There are eight par 4s between 400-450 yards as well as two below 400. The course is ripe for scoring. The par 4 14th, sitting at roughly 296 yards depending on tee boxes, will be attacked by players throughout the week aiming for eagles and tap-in birdies.

The short par 4 along with the two par 5s have birdie rates north of 30% and present the greatest scoring opportunities. Length is not a concern at this course. Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson have won this event, while Chez Reavie booked a victory. Fairways and lengths are not significant, and for once, we will incorporate SG: OTT at a high percentage.

As for what is significant, approach and putting are the primary skills required to win at TPC River Highlands. With no cut, the best players on the PGA TOUR will take aim repeatedly with wedges to create makeable birdie opportunities. Unsurprisingly, Scottie Scheffler leads the field in SG: Approach, while Tony Finau ranks 2nd after a great showing at Pinehurst.

Oddly, the key proximity range that winners and top-10 finishers have excelled with on this course is 150-175 yards. This is likely attributed to two of the par 3s falling within that range, guaranteeing a plurality of shots from that range throughout the week.

Instead of including SG: Par 5, I think it is best we focus on BOB% given the pile of opportunities the course offers. Seven holes offer birdie rates north of 19%, while only four holes offer a bogey rate above 17%. We can expect a very low score at this event given the strength of the field and the course layout.

We are going to keep the model simple this week over players’ last 24 rounds. The following categories will be included:

• SG: Approach
• SG: OTT
• P4: 400-450
• Proximity 150-175
• SG: Putting
• SG: Total
• BOB%
• Opportunities Gained

I am not going to bother including bogey avoidance or around-the-green play. For an outright bet, we are looking for a ceiling scoring performance.

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The Travelers Championship Golf Picks

Unless mentioned otherwise, all Strokes Gained statistics will be referenced over the player’s previous 24 rounds on the PGA TOUR.

Patrick Cantlay +2000 (FanDuel)

Not including Rory McIlroy, Cantlay tied with one other player at the U.S. Open with 15.1 strokes gained on the field. Cantlay came alive at Pinehurst and put together his best performance at a major.

Cantlay comes to New England with 6 consecutive T20 finishes at the Travelers Championship. Finishing 4th last season, he is a Pete Dye specialist who ranks in the top 5 at total strokes gained at this golf course. Given his ball striking and penchant for precision with his putter, the confidence he must have gained from his U.S. Open run should spill over to this week.

After winning the FedEx Cup in 2021, Cantlay has not won a golf tournament since the 2022 BMW Championship. He is certainly going to win a major at some point in his career, but we will settle for a very familiar course where course history plays a big role. He leads off our betting card and is likely our one-and-done selection with many of the big names now unavailable.

Tony Finau +3300 (BetMGM)

Finau was the other player with 15.1 strokes gained on the field at the U.S. Open. He boasts 4 consecutive T20 finishes, with an 8th-place finish at the Memorial at the last Signature Event.

While his putting leaves a lot to be desired, Finau gained 1.7 strokes on the field with the flatstick over his last two tournaments. With his approach play and high volume of birdies, he is going to be a threat this week if he can put together a couple of good rounds with his putter.

His recent form has been outstanding in what appears to be a disappointing season because of the lack of victories. When you look at his 2024 season, Finau has been excellent outside of putting. If he gained confidence over the last couple of weeks, the lid might come off to close the season. We include him as an outright bet and will consider him if we can find the right matchup opponent.

Brian Harman +4500 (FanDuel)

Course history is sticky at TPC River Highlands, and Harman leads the field in total strokes gained at TPC River Highlands throughout the course of his career.

He boasts 6 T10 finishes at the event. Not known for his length, Harman should feel right at home at the short New England track. With putting being so important at TPC River Highlands, he will be able to cash in more than most if he can dial in his approach game.

While he hasn’t scared the top of any leaderboards since THE PLAYERS Championship, Harman is well worth an outright bet at 45-1. I will be checking on his matchups as well, hoping to find him against a less stellar putter.

Denny McCarthy +6600 (BetRivers)

Speaking of putter, let’s talk about the best putter in the field. McCarthy finished inside the top 10 at this event last year and will always threaten at courses where putting is so significant. TPC River Highlands makes even more sense for McCarthy given the importance of proximity from 150-175 yards; he ranks 4th in the field in this category.

While he doesn’t rank that high in my overall model, McCarthy feels like a value to me at 66-1. We will include him as an outright and consider him for a top-finisher bet.

Quick Hitters

Taylor Pendrith +12000 (FanDuel) – Finds his way on our card based on his putting prowess and recent form at a nice number.

Ben Griffin +22000 (FanDuel) – 150-1 on DraftKings and 220-1 on FanDuel. Played pretty well at the RBC Canadian Open. Very low cost for upside.

2024 Travelers Championship Betting Card

One-and-Done Pick: Patrick Cantlay

Travelers Championship Betting Units: 4.1

2024 Net Units: 258.7

Well, another future bet paid huge dividends at the U.S. Open. Bryson DeChambeau netted us 147.65 units, but we will call it 146 because of a few live 2RL bets. In what feels like a down year week to week, I am very likely on track for my most profitable betting season ever on the back of two very large wins at majors because of promotional futures betting. This is the nature of golf betting. Let’s keep this rolling ahead of The Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Follow me on X at @JoeCistaro to follow along with any additions, matchups, or top finishers I add to my outright betting card. Good luck with your wagers this week, and thanks for reading.

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