PGA First Look: Travelers Championship

by Derek Farnsworth (Notorious) Last Updated 2018-06-21 11:45:35

The PGA First Look is complete with a course preview, odds, salaries, Official World Golf Rankings, and course history.

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The U.S. Open was absolutely fantastic. That was the most fun I had watching a golf tournament this year. It had Sunday drama, it was competitive, the best golfers in the world struggled to shoot even par, big names missed the cut to tilt us DFS players, and everyone on Twitter nearly lost their mind when Phil Mickelson hit a ball while it was rolling off the green. I was pulling for Tommy Fleetwood when he made that Sunday charge, but you could feel the importance of his missed birdie putt on 18 when it happened. He ended up a stroke shy of Brooks Koepka, who has now won back-to-back U.S. Opens. In addition to the two major championships under his belt, Koepka has now finished inside the top 25 in 12 straight majors. There is no doubt that he plays his best golf on the biggest stages.

There is typically a hangover the week after majors, but we have a star-studded field on tap for the Travelers Championship. Justin Thomas, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, and Brooks Koepka headline a field that includes 22 of the top 50 golfers in the world. The PGA Tour doesn’t have to travel far this week, as it’s a quick trip from the Hamptons to Cromwell, Connecticut. While travel isn’t a concern, fatigue may play a role this week for those golfers that played all four rounds at the U.S. Open. Major championships are generally a grind mentally and that was certainly the case last week with every golfer finishing over par for the tournament.

If we are comparing TPC River Highlands to Shinnecock, they are nothing alike other than the fact that they are both Par 70 layouts. This week’s course is a Pete Dye design that measures 6,841 yards, which is nearly 600 yards shorter than Shinnecock Hills. The greens are a mix of poa annua and bentgrass. The fairways aren’t extremely narrow, but they are tree-lined. You will need precision both off the tee and with your irons to compete here, but that doesn’t mean that we can only target accurate drivers of the ball. Most of the bombers will club down off the tee, which will naturally boost their driving accuracy for the week. This tends to be one of the lowest scoring events of the year, so you’ll have to rack up birdies to make the cut and to compete on the weekend.

When we have less than driver courses, I always lean toward strokes gained approach as my most important statistic. If everyone is playing from the same spots on the fairways, we want the golfers that will be the most accurate with their approach shots. We’ve seen a strong correlation between the winners here and greens in regulation, which is why it is listed as my third most important statistic of the week. Par four scoring will also be critical, as the golfers only have two par fives to feast on this week. If you want to break down par four scoring by distance splits, eight of the 12 measure between 400-450 yards. We’ve seen quite the mix of winners over the last few years, from long-hitting Bubba Watson to the accurate Russell Knox, so don’t rule anyone out based strictly on their style of play.

We received so much good feedback on my PGA model video last week that we have decided to bring it back as a weekly feature for premium members, so look for that to be posted on Wednesday.

Cut Rule: Top 70 and ties move on after the first two rounds. The MDF rule is in effect if more than 78 golfers make the initial cut.

Recent Winners of this Event: Jordan Spieth (2017), Russell Knox (2016), Bubba Watson (2015), Kevin Streelman (2014), Ken Duke (2013)

Key Statistics (In Order of Importance)

1) Strokes Gained Approach
2) Par 4 Scoring
3) Greens in Regulation
4) Birdie or Better %
5) Strokes Gained Off the Tee (emphasis on accuracy over distance)

Hole by Hole Breakdown

Salaries, Odds, and Course History (2013-2017)

Golfer	DK Salary	FD Salary	FDRFT Salary	OWGR	Odds	DK Odds	FD Odds	FDRFT Odds	Cuts	2017	2016	2015	2014	2013
Justin Thomas	$11,500	$12,300	$17,600	2	12	0%	50%	0%	2/4	125	3	73	500	30
Brooks Koepka	$11,300	$12,500	$17,500	4	15	-100%	-300%	-100%	2/2	500	9	500	51	500
Rory McIlroy	$10,900	$11,800	$17,400	7	13	33%	50%	33%	1/1	17	500	500	500	500
Jordan Spieth	$10,600	$11,500	$17,200	5	14	25%	50%	25%	1/1	1	500	500	500	500
Patrick Reed	$10,000	$11,600	$17,000	11	17	0%	0%	0%	3/5	5	11	73	87	18
Jason Day	$9,800	$11,900	$16,900	9	17	0%	-100%	0%	1/2	92	500	500	18	500
Paul Casey	$9,600	$11,200	$16,800	13	19	0%	22%	0%	3/3	5	17	2	500	500
Bryson DeChambeau	$9,500	$11,400	$16,100	22	28	-25%	-43%	-11%	2/2	26	47	500	500	500
Marc Leishman	$9,300	$11,200	$16,000	16	28	0%	0%	10%	5/5	17	9	39	11	30
Webb Simpson	$9,100	$11,300	$16,200	21	24	20%	0%	0%	3/3	8	34	500	500	5
Ryan Moore	$9,000	$9,800	$15,700	64	32	-18%	32%	0%	3/3	500	17	500	5	7
Daniel Berger	$8,900	$11,100	$15,800	40	29	8%	0%	0%	2/2	2	5	500	500	500
Bubba Watson	$8,800	$10,400	$15,800	20	30	8%	14%	-9%	4/5	92	25	1	31	4
Charley Hoffman	$8,700	$9,700	$15,100	37	44	-14%	27%	0%	4/4	3	25	500	26	7
Xander Schauffele	$8,600	$9,600	$15,300	24	37	0%	38%	-7%	1/1	14	500	500	500	500
Billy Horschel	$8,500	$9,600	$14,600	89	57	-38%	8%	-22%	1/1	500	500	25	500	500
Patrick Cantlay	$8,400	$10,600	$15,200	30	33	18%	-8%	7%	0/1	500	500	500	87	500
Brian Harman	$8,300	$10,100	$14,600	28	51	-6%	-19%	-6%	4/5	35	118	3	42	51
Zach Johnson	$8,200	$10,000	$14,500	54	57	-11%	-24%	-5%	3/5	120	47	6	125	58
Brandt Snedeker	$8,100	$10,800	$14,400	90	61	-15%	-92%	-10%	3/3	14	500	10	11	500
Russell Knox	$8,000	$9,800	$14,800	113	51	14%	5%	-6%	4/4	62	1	500	61	13
J.B. Holmes	$8,000	$9,900	$13,900	93	79	-33%	-56%	-8%	0/1	500	145	500	500	500
Keegan Bradley	$7,900	$9,700	$14,300	70	64	-4%	-9%	-9%	5/5	8	25	39	31	18
Luke List	$7,900	$9,800	$13,800	53	79	-26%	-53%	-7%	0/2	500	118	500	500	142
Jamie Lovemark	$7,800	$8,900	$13,300	94	96	-48%	12%	-6%	2/3	75	104	500	31	500
Patrick Rodgers	$7,800	$8,900	$13,800	128	75	-8%	36%	0%	4/4	35	3	39	46	500
Emiliano Grillo	$7,700	$10,200	$14,100	51	50	37%	-13%	32%	1/1	43	500	500	500	500
Kyle Stanley	$7,700	$8,900	$14,200	38	66	7%	40%	-9%	2/5	57	148	20	104	110
Brendan Steele	$7,600	$9,500	$13,800	52	68	10%	0%	4%	5/5	14	17	25	5	13
Cheng-Tsung Pan	$7,600	$8,600	$13,600	183	83	-10%	33%	-7%	2/2	8	500	25	500	500
Russell Henley	$7,600	$9,300	$14,200	55	54	31%	33%	13%	1/1	500	11	500	500	500
Austin Cook	$7,600	$9,200	$13,400	102	89	-24%	-13%	-13%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Adam Hadwin	$7,500	$9,400	$12,800	47	113	-30%	-54%	-2%	1/3	57	74	73	500	500
Nick Watney	$7,500	$8,600	$12,700	96	120	-39%	4%	-5%	3/3	73	500	39	11	500
Si Woo Kim	$7,500	$9,000	$12,800	46	104	-24%	-14%	2%	1/1	500	25	500	500	500
Danny Lee	$7,500	$8,100	$10,300	142	102	-18%	42%	71%	2/3	3	500	25	87	500
Kevin Streelman	$7,400	$8,300	$13,400	125	81	16%	47%	3%	2/5	8	134	73	1	146
Martin Laird	$7,400	$9,100	$12,600	107	120	-24%	-35%	-2%	2/3	92	62	15	500	500
Graeme McDowell	$7,400	$8,400	$13,400	173	87	8%	37%	-6%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Beau Hossler	$7,400	$9,000	$13,600	88	79	19%	17%	0%	1/1	53	500	500	500	500
Jhonattan Vegas	$7,400	$8,400	$12,500	67	137	-43%	2%	-15%	2/3	120	500	54	31	500
Chesson Hadley	$7,300	$9,500	$13,300	62	84	21%	-27%	6%	0/2	500	104	500	104	500
Retief Goosen	$7,300	$7,400	$12,300	289	142	-31%	48%	-10%	3/3	62	47	500	51	500
Troy Merritt	$7,300	$8,200	$12,300	330	129	-21%	18%	-2%	2/4	8	88	73	67	500
Jim Furyk	$7,300	$8,600	$12,400	264	129	-24%	-8%	-6%	2/2	26	5	500	500	500
Anirban Lahiri	$7,300	$7,700	$12,500	112	127	-17%	42%	-7%	1/1	17	500	500	500	500
Bill Haas	$7,300	$9,400	$13,000	86	100	10%	-36%	0%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Trey Mullinax	$7,300	$8,100	$12,500	166	128	-19%	25%	-9%	0/1	86	500	500	500	500
Harris English	$7,300	$8,200	$12,200	221	141	-29%	13%	-4%	3/4	92	500	25	7	43
Chez Reavie	$7,200	$9,300	$13,300	50	88	30%	-17%	0%	4/4	43	47	25	500	43
Rory Sabbatini	$7,200	$8,900	$12,900	153	114	12%	-5%	-7%	1/3	125	56	500	500	99
Joel Dahmen	$7,200	$8,400	$12,100	382	163	-26%	-17%	-13%	1/1	62	500	500	500	500
Robert Garrigus	$7,200	$7,700	$12,100	243	173	-34%	21%	-20%	2/4	86	5	39	500	110
Keith Mitchell	$7,200	$9,100	$10,300	136	116	10%	-32%	67%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
J.J. Spaun	$7,200	$7,600	$11,900	147	177	-38%	28%	-5%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Richy Werenski	$7,200	$8,300	$11,800	235	199	-52%	-31%	-10%	0/1	139	500	500	500	500
Ollie Schniederjans	$7,200	$9,000	$12,200	98	146	-14%	-58%	-10%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Chris Stroud	$7,200	$7,400	$11,700	203	217	-66%	21%	-12%	4/4	500	38	10	18	2
Stewart Cink	$7,100	$8,700	$13,000	149	108	29%	9%	-11%	1/2	500	500	73	500	81
Kevin Tway	$7,100	$9,000	$12,200	163	146	5%	-56%	-8%	2/2	43	500	500	26	500
Jason Kokrak	$7,100	$7,800	$12,100	134	153	-3%	25%	-9%	3/3	26	34	48	500	500
Nate Lashley	$7,100	$7,800	$11,600	323	235	-47%	-7%	-10%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Tyrone Van Aswegen	$7,100	$8,000	$11,300	295	250	-56%	-31%	-5%	3/4	92	5	60	26	500
David Lingmerth	$7,100	$7,600	$11,800	230	193	-25%	23%	-7%	2/3	26	500	64	87	500
Satoshi Kodaira	$7,100	$8,300	$12,000	36	170	-10%	-12%	-5%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Denny McCarthy	$7,100	$8,200	$11,700	410	207	-34%	-27%	-7%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Nick Taylor	$7,100	$7,700	$11,100	244	280	-75%	-21%	-5%	1/3	131	64	144	500	500
Michael Kim	$7,100	$7,100	$11,500	435	248	-53%	27%	-7%	1/2	69	88	500	500	500
Doug Ghim	$7,100	$7,400	$11,400		257	-63%	9%	-13%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Corey Conners	$7,000	$9,000	$11,700	338	205	-11%	-117%	-5%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Aaron Baddeley	$7,000	$8,500	$10,300	216	147	17%	-14%	57%	3/4	500	34	48	4	99
Pat Perez	$7,000	$9,200	$13,000	35	103	43%	-25%	-5%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Tyler Duncan	$7,000	$7,600	$11,700	381	226	-20%	13%	-14%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Wesley Bryan	$7,000	$8,500	$10,300	120	127	31%	6%	65%	1/1	74	500	500	500	500
Ted Potter	$7,000	$7,700	$11,600	84	213	-16%	5%	-3%	0/2	500	88	500	87	500
Ryan Blaum	$7,000	$8,000	$11,900	293	182	-1%	-1%	-8%	0/1	139	500	500	500	500
Alex Cejka	$7,000	$7,200	$11,400	265	250	-31%	21%	-8%	2/3	84	11	144	500	500
Harold Varner	$7,000	$7,900	$11,300	168	252	-34%	-21%	-7%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Benjamin Silverman	$7,000	$7,700	$10,900	236	322	-60%	-32%	-7%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Kelly Kraft	$7,000	$7,400	$11,200	176	267	-46%	3%	-9%	0/2	86	128	500	500	500
Vaughn Taylor	$6,900	$8,700	$12,100	231	153	26%	-30%	-7%	3/4	57	38	500	61	99
William McGirt	$6,900	$8,200	$12,000	171	171	19%	-6%	-6%	4/4	43	500	25	31	30
Ryan Armour	$6,900	$8,000	$12,100	154	176	16%	3%	-21%	0/2	125	500	73	500	500
Ryan Palmer	$6,900	$9,000	$12,200	133	148	27%	-64%	-13%	1/1	53	500	500	500	500
John Huh	$6,900	$8,400	$11,300	212	252	-16%	-74%	-7%	1/5	107	104	73	114	79
Scott Stallings	$6,900	$7,700	$11,600	159	214	-1%	4%	-4%	0/2	107	74	500	500	500
Ben Martin	$6,900	$8,000	$11,200	253	261	-21%	-40%	-4%	0/1	500	104	500	500	500
Tom Lovelady	$6,900	$7,500	$10,800	317	334	-46%	-17%	-9%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Matt Every	$6,900	$7,100	$11,000	620	291	-31%	15%	-7%	1/3	35	500	89	500	132
Jonas Blixt	$6,900	$7,100	$10,800	246	325	-40%	9%	-5%	2/5	62	134	89	78	43
Cameron Tringale	$6,900	$7,200	$10,600	429	376	-54%	-8%	-2%	0/1	500	500	500	500	84
Jonathan Randolph	$6,900	$7,000	$10,700	378	375	-53%	9%	-9%	1/2	134	500	60	500	500
Matt Jones	$6,800	$8,100	$11,800	304	203	17%	-15%	-12%	2/3	500	64	89	46	500
Patton Kizzire	$6,800	$8,200	$12,000	65	178	25%	-13%	-13%	1/1	53	500	500	500	500
Andrew Landry	$6,800	$7,500	$12,100	72	158	33%	39%	-11%	0/1	500	88	500	500	500
Abraham Ancer	$6,800	$8,500	$11,600	200	209	14%	-57%	-1%	1/1	500	56	500	500	500
Seamus Power	$6,800	$7,600	$12,000	309	166	31%	33%	-3%	0/1	107	500	500	500	500
Nicholas Lindheim	$6,800	$7,800	$11,700	298	227	9%	-5%	-15%	0/1	139	500	500	500	500
Talor Gooch	$6,800	$7,200	$11,400	223	249	2%	22%	-7%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Lanto Griffin	$6,800	$7,200	$10,700	337	319	-19%	4%	3%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Sam Ryder	$6,800	$7,600	$10,900	271	318	-18%	-15%	-5%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Dominic Bozzelli	$6,800	$7,700	$11,000	290	293	-15%	-26%	-8%	0/1	131	500	500	500	500
Robert Streb	$6,800	$7,400	$10,800	273	326	-24%	-10%	-6%	2/3	57	500	500	87	58
Martin Piller	$6,800	$7,400	$10,700	257	359	-31%	-16%	-7%	0/1	500	128	500	500	500
Tom Hoge	$6,700	$8,000	$11,800	175	194	29%	-7%	-9%	2/3	35	153	64	500	500
James Hahn	$6,700	$8,300	$11,800	82	192	30%	-26%	-6%	1/2	500	118	500	77	500
Dylan Meyer	$6,700	$8,000	$11,200		260	8%	-39%	-3%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Bronson Burgoon	$6,700	$7,500	$11,000	406	283	0%	-4%	-6%	0/1	500	141	500	500	500
Brice Garnett	$6,700	$8,000	$11,900	129	186	31%	-3%	-9%	2/2	500	500	20	75	500
Peter Malnati	$6,700	$7,900	$11,200	618	233	18%	-10%	9%	1/3	75	104	500	125	500
Jonathan Byrd	$6,700	$7,100	$10,600	349	398	-22%	-3%	-4%	1/3	500	500	73	51	124
Blayne Barber	$6,700	$7,200	$10,700	470	368	-17%	-6%	-8%	1/2	500	25	102	500	500
J.J. Henry	$6,700	$7,100	$10,400	486	459	-23%	-4%	-2%	3/5	69	74	60	87	5
Derek Fathauer	$6,700	$7,500	$10,700	302	343	-14%	-19%	-5%	0/3	125	88	102	500	500
Rob Oppenheim	$6,700	$7,000	$10,700	314	384	-21%	7%	-11%	0/1	500	74	500	500	500
Kyle Thompson	$6,700			496	890	-43%			0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Chad Campbell	$6,600	$7,800	$11,600	332	242	25%	-9%	-11%	3/5	107	104	25	7	70
Mac Hughes	$6,600	$7,100	$10,900	257	315	7%	12%	-4%	1/1	17	500	500	500	500
Hunter Mahan	$6,600	$7,700	$11,300	637	262	15%	-16%	-13%	3/5	17	70	102	78	24
Fabian Gomez	$6,600	$7,700	$10,800	677	325	3%	-33%	-5%	1/2	53	500	500	500	84
Padraig Harrington	$6,600	$7,300	$11,300	252	247	24%	22%	-1%	3/4	17	64	102	500	72
Will Claxton	$6,600				705	-26%			0/1	500	500	500	500	110
Nick Hardy	$6,600	$7,300	$10,100		477	-15%	-18%	8%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Steve Marino	$6,600	$7,000	$10,400	751	473	-14%	2%	-6%	1/2	500	74	500	51	500
Scott Brown	$6,600	$7,000	$11,300	170	264	15%	26%	-14%	2/3	500	25	54	78	500
Matt Atkins	$6,600	$7,100	$10,400	530	519	-18%	-11%	-10%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Roberto Diaz	$6,600	$7,100	$10,300	615	620	-24%	-17%	-7%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Smylie Kaufman	$6,600	$7,000	$10,100	415	652	-25%	-7%	-1%	1/2	35	141	500	500	500
Sam Saunders	$6,500	$8,000	$11,000	194	266	22%	-44%	-2%	0/1	500	148	500	500	500
Brandon Harkins	$6,500	$7,700	$11,000	242	280	20%	-21%	-4%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Shawn Stefani	$6,500	$7,700	$10,800	385	327	10%	-36%	-7%	1/3	134	11	500	114	500
Brett Stegmaier	$6,500	$7,100	$10,400	898	466	-1%	-5%	-3%	1/2	26	152	500	500	500
Ken Duke	$6,500	$7,000	$10,700		377	2%	7%	-11%	3/5	107	88	10	46	1
Dou Zecheng	$6,500	$7,100	$10,100	598	595	-11%	-15%	1%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Steve Wheatcroft	$6,500	$7,200	$10,400	831	495	-5%	-17%	-8%	1/3	83	118	128	500	500
Sung Kang	$6,500	$7,400	$11,000	135	293	17%	-2%	-8%	2/2	75	70	500	500	500
Ethan Tracy	$6,500	$7,400	$10,700	520	341	8%	-13%	-4%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Jon Curran	$6,500	$7,000	$10,400		566	-9%	-4%	-12%	1/3	500	74	10	500	84
Conrad Shindler	$6,500	$7,200	$10,800	447	328	9%	-1%	-8%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Rod Pampling	$6,500	$7,000	$10,400	416	548	-9%	-3%	-11%	3/3	69	38	500	500	70
Brian Stuard	$6,400	$7,900	$10,700	267	357	14%	-55%	-6%	2/5	143	38	25	114	124
Martin Flores	$6,400	$7,200	$10,500	344	470	6%	-14%	-6%	0/3	125	500	102	500	118
Billy Hurley	$6,400	$7,100	$10,300	511	586	-1%	-15%	-4%	1/3	92	104	500	57	500
Adam Schenk	$6,400	$7,000	$10,400	360	495	4%	0%	-8%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Xin-Jun Zhang	$6,400	$7,000	$10,200	364	597	-2%	-6%	-1%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Kris Blanks	$6,400				991	-7%			0/1	500	500	500	78	500
Bob Estes	$6,400	$7,000	$10,200		519	2%	-1%	3%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500
Geoff Ogilvy	$6,400	$7,400	$10,400	444	468	7%	-25%	-4%	1/2	69	118	500	500	500
Greg Chalmers	$6,400	$7,100	$10,400	547	491	4%	-9%	-7%	2/5	66	47	112	87	110
Andrew Yun	$6,400			570	820	-6%			0/0	500	500	500	500	500
D.A. Points	$6,400	$7,000	$10,300	423	655	-4%	-8%	-8%	0/1	500	500	500	114	500
Adam D’Amario	$6,400	$7,000	$10,000		1263	-8%	-12%	-3%	0/0	500	500	500	500	500

Color Coding
Course history in BLUE indicates a top ten finish.
Course history in GREEN indicates a top 25 finish.
Course history in YELLOW indicates a made cut with a finish outside of the top 25.
Course history in RED indicates a missed cut.

Legend