Five Golfers Withdraw but Show Goes On at the Travelers Championship
On Wednesday, PGA Tour Commissioner Jay Monahan made an impromptu flight to Connecticut to address rising coronavirus concerns after two caddies and a player tested positive ahead of Thursday’s first round at the Travelers Championship.
Monahan addressed the media in a press conference Wednesday afternoon, which was a sweat in and of itself for pessimist golf fans.
In response to the positive coronavirus tests and five golfers withdrawing over the last two days, Monahan stated that this week was a “wake-up call” to not only golfers on Tour but to himself as well.
“All of us have an extraordinary responsibility to follow those protocols. For any individual who doesn’t, there will be serious repercussions,” Monahan told reporters.
Luckily, golf bettors don’t have to worry about sportsbooks voiding all of their wagers, nor will your PGA DFS research go to waste — though pivots and new ownerships projections might need to be made.
Koepka and Simpson Among Five WDs at Travelers Championship
Of the five golfers who withdrew, only Cameron Champ actually tested positive for COVID-19. Others who withdrew their names from the field include Brooks Koepka, his younger brother Chase, Graeme McDowell, and last week’s winner, Webb Simpson.
The news pertaining to Simpson and the eldest Koepka is of particular importance for those making golf lineups and PGA golf betting picks.
After his RBC Heritage victory on Sunday, RotoGrinders projected Simpson to be in roughly 10% of DraftKings Millionaire Maker lineups. Koepka’s projections were closer to 16%. Will their ownership shares shift toward top-tier chalk like Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Thomas, or will we see more balanced builds with ownership increasing towards names like Paul Casey, Sunjae Im, Gary Woodland, Tony Finau, etc.?
Sign up for RG Premium for more DFS ownership projections!
DFS golf fans aren’t the only ones relieved that golf will continue as scheduled at TPC River Highlands. So are U.S. sportsbooks, who have seen a surge of golf bets placed online.
As ESPN’s David Purdum pointed out on Tuesday, BetMGM reported a 5,441% year-over-year increase in the number of bets placed and a 3,982% increase in their handle for last week’s RBC Heritage.
DeChambeau is the Betting Favorite at River Highlands
Speaking of golf bets, Simpson and Koepka were both among favorites to win the Travelers Championship this week before withdrawing. Koepka was as short as +1800 on Wednesday at PointsBet Sportsbook, while Simpson was +2200 at FOX Bet.
Their absence at TPC River Highlands certainly won’t hurt our Travelers Championship betting picks. After all, Webb Simpson isn’t only fresh off a victory, but he’s been one of the most impressive and consistent golfers on Tour over the last year. Since ranking 20th following last year’s Open Championship, Simpson has two victories, three runners-up and a third-place finish while surging to the fifth-ranked player in the world, per Official World Golf Rankings.
As for Koepka, the three-time major winner hadn’t won since the FedEx St. Jude Invitational, but he is a threat to walk away with a trophy no matter the course. Koepka’s golf game was trending in the right direction with a 7th at the RBC Heritage.
Out of all of the golfers, Koepka’s younger brother suffers the worst beat of all. Chase hadn’t played on the PGA Tour since last fall, and he was lucky to earn a spot at the Travelers Championship thanks to a successful Monday qualifying round. Two days later, Chase is headed home out of an “abundance of caution” after hanging around Brooks and his caddie Rickie Elliot.
Unless more unexpected withdraws occur between now and when golfers tee off for the tournament Thursday morning, DeChambeau will likely close as the favorite to win the Travelers Championship. DeChambeau is +1000 at FanDuel Sportsbook, in front of both Rory McIlroy +1100 and Justin Thomas +1200.
Regardless, the show does indeed go on at the Travelers Championship. The field still includes seven of the top 10 golfers in the world, plus popular names like Justin Rose, Tony Finau, Bubba Watson, Phil Mickelson, and Gary Woodland.
If the first two PGA tournaments back were a sign of things to come, we should have yet another exciting final round waiting for us on Sunday at TPC River Highlands.
Image Credit: USA Today Sports Images