PGA DFS Core Plays: Travelers Championship
Top-ranked DFS player, Notorious, breaks down his favorite PGA DFS picks at various salary ranges for this week’s tournament. Who should you be building around? Find out below.
The U.S. Open will be a sweat I remember for the rest of my life. While you have to feel for Rory McIlroy after bogeying three of his last four holes and missing two putts inside of 4 feet during that stretch, it was an incredible finish for Bryson DeChambeau. He struggled with the driver all day and pulled his drive left on 18. He was under a tree and could only hit a runner that ended up in a bunker 55 yards short of the hole. Many professionals say a 50-yard bunker shot is the hardest in golf. Not for Bryson, at least not on this day with a major championship on the line. He stuck it to 4 feet and drained the putt. I was watching with my family and told all my nieces and nephews I would give them each $20 if Bryson made the putt. They were just as ecstatic as I was. In addition to the outright, I also had a nice week of DFS, so the vibes are high.
This is an interesting spot in the PGA TOUR calendar, as the Memorial Tournament was a Signature Event. We had the U.S. Open, and now we have another Signature Event. With the exception of Rory McIlroy and the LIV golfers, the world’s best will be teeing it up for a third straight week. Given the difficulty of the courses over the last two weeks, we could see some fatigue set in for golfers, especially those who have been in contention in these events. These factors are always hard to quantify, but it might actually be a positive for this week if golfers missed the cut in one of the last two events.
Noto’s PGA Model Download & Video for the Travelers Championship
TPC River Highlands is one of the shortest courses on the PGA TOUR. It’s a par 70 that measures only 6,835 yards. Due to the length and the fact that the fairways narrow the farther you get from the tee boxes, this is one of the few courses that rewards accuracy over distance off the tee. A combination of both is always preferred, but this is an event where any type of golfer can contend. We’ve seen Dustin Johnson and Chez Reavie win here over the last 5 years, and their games couldn’t be more different.
The greens at TPC River Highlands are small (5,000 square feet) but easy to hit on average. In 2023, the field hit 73% of greens in regulation. This naturally lessens the importance of around-the-green play, as there will be fewer scrambling opportunities. Given the quality of the field, we can expect the winning score to be at least 20 under par. As is usually the case at birdie-fests, it often turns into a putting contest. The greens here feature a mix of bentgrass and poa annua.
I’m keeping it simple this week — total driving, iron play, putting, birdie-making, recent form, and course history.
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PGA DFS Picks: DraftKings & FanDuel Core Plays for the Travelers Championship
Field Size:
- 72 golfers
Cut Rule:
- No cut this week
Weather Forecasts
TPC River Highlands
- Location: Cromwell, Connecticut
- Par 70 — 6,835 yards
- Difficulty: 2023 (39th), 2022 (22nd), 2021 (22nd), 2020 (32nd), 2019 (19th)
- Recent winners: Keegan Bradley (-23), Xander Schauffele (-19), Harris English (-13), Dustin Johnson (-19), Chez Reavie (-17)
- Number of holes with water hazards: 5
- Green type: bentgrass with poa annua
- Green size: 5,000 square feet
- 2023 tournament averages:
- - Fairway width: 37 yards (they narrow at 300 yards)
- - Driving accuracy: 63%
- - Driving distance: 290 yards
- - Greens in regulation: 73%
- 2023 approach shot distributions:
- - 50-100 yards: 13%
- - 100-125 yards: 12%
- - 125-150 yards: 22%
- - 150-175 yards: 23%
- - 175-200 yards: 9%
- - 200+ yards: 21%
Event and Course Notes
- Signature Event, U.S. Open, and now another Signature Event
- We could see some fatigue set in for the best players in the world
- No cut this week- all golfers are guaranteed to play four rounds
- This is one of the shortest courses on the PGA TOUR
- Accuracy is more important than distance off the tee
- Fairways are wide at 250 yards and narrow at 300 yards
- Due to length, this is more of a second-shot golf course
- Winning score will likely be in the 20 under par range
- Any type of golfer can contend here, as seen by past winners
What to Look For
- Strokes Gained: Approach
- Total driving (accuracy is more important than distance)
- Birdie or Better %
- Strokes Gained: Putting
- Bogey avoidance
Core Plays
Russell Henley
DraftKings: $8,600 / pOWN%: 9%
FanDuel: $9,900 / pOWN%: 9%
Total Driving: 35
Strokes Gained: Approach: 25
Strokes Gained: Around-the-Green: 9
Strokes Gained: Putting: 12
Birdie or Better %: 32
Bogey Avoidance: 10
Birdie fests are the only events where I feel somewhat comfortable being underweight on Scottie Scheffler. He looked lost on the greens at Pinehurst and was visibly frustrated. His tee-to-green prowess can still carry him to a high finish, but I’m not sure he can win without a decent week on the greens. I prefer the balanced builds this week, which usually isn’t the case in no-cut events. Henley is the easiest click on the board, in my eyes. He’s accurate off the tee, he’s one of the best iron players in the field, and he has quietly had an elite year on the greens. He’s been a top 30 machine this season and already has four top 7 finishes, including one last week at the U.S. Open. He also has solid course history, finishing in the top 20 here in back-to-back years and in four of his last six appearances.
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